Spring football is here.

After a roller coaster of a 2021 season, from the highest of highs at the Rose Bowl to the lowest of lows at home against Oregon and in Ann Arbor against Michigan, Ohio State is back on the practice field with high expectations once again.

In the weeks leading up to the spring game, we'll break down the roster, going position-by-position to see who's back for another season, who the Buckeyes lost and what the expectations will be heading into the Buckeyes' season opener Sept. 3 against Notre Dame.

Today, we take a look at Ohio State's defensive ends.

It couldn't get much worse than 2020 heading into 2021.

In the shortened COVID-19 season, Ohio State couldn't continue that dominance it had been known for on the defensive line from the days of Sam Hubbard, Chase Young, Joey Bosa and Nick Bosa, recording its first season without a defensive lineman recording double-digit tackles-for-loss since 2012 while averaging 2.6 sacks per game.

2021 didn't prove to be much better, ending the season with an average of 2.76 sacks per game despite finishing with 36 sacks: the third most in the Big Ten behind Michigan State and Wisconsin. As for defensive ends, Zach Harrison led the team with four sacks, also leading the team with eight tackles-for-loss.

Overall, opposing quarterbacks completed 61.6% of throws agains the Buckeyes' defensive front.

With injuries to Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday, though, the Buckeyes saw a chance to see a bit of its future, being forced to utilize both of their five-star freshmen defensive ends: J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, who combined for 30 tackles, 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 5.5 sacks.

In the run game, the Buckeyes were able to limit rushers to 3.7 yards per touch, one of eight teams in the Big Ten that were able to keep opposing backs to under four yards per carry, but allowed 17 touchdowns, and 126.4 yards per carry.

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For a player coming into the program as a set piece to continue the dominance of the Ohio State defensive end, Smith never really had the chance to continue that trend.

After four seasons with the Buckeyes, the senior defensive end finished with 11 tackles-for-loss — including five in 2019 and five in 2021 — with seven career sacks. He had his best season of his career this past year, recording 26 tackles, five tackles-for-loss and three sacks, while adding two pass deflections and a forced fumble.

After two seasons with the Buckeyes, in which recorded seven tackles, including three for loss and two sacks, Cormontae Hamilton, a converted tight end, entered the transfer portal after the 2021 season after not being listed on the Buckeyes' spring practice chart.

Most of Larry Johnson's room is back for the 2021 season, including each of Ohio State's three main pieces at defensive end.

Harrison, who decided to return after his junior season in which he recorded career-highs in tackles, tackles-for-loss, pass deflections and forced fumbles, will headline the position, while Sawyer and Tuimoloau will look to pick up where they left off on the other side of the line, rotating in and out.

The Buckeyes will also see the return of Friday, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL, while Noah Potter is also set to be back after a foot and eye injury kept the defensive lineman sidelined for the entire season.

Ohio State's defensive line recruitment as a whole was late blooming in 2022.

First came Kenyatta Jackson Jr.: the four-star, No. 3-ranked weak-side defensive end out of Chaminade Madonna in Hollywood, Florida, who the Buckeyes view as a pass-rushing specialist.

Then came Caden Curry: the four-star, No. 10-ranked strong-side defensive end out of Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, a player head coach Ryan Day describes as a lineman with "tremendous twitch" and motor coming from a program that never really lost much. Curry is the only defensive lineman in the 2022 class, who came to Ohio State as an early enrollee.

And finally, late in the game, came Omari Abor: the four-star, No. 15-ranked strong-side defensive end out of Duncanville High School on the south side of Dallas, a player whose size is already reminiscent of Tuimoloau.

With all of the talent in front of them, like Sawyer and Tuimoloau, the stars or rankings may not match the load of past classes at defensive end. But all Johnson does is reload, something he did this offseason too.

For the entire defensive line, starters don't really matter much. Johnson has been known to rotate players in and out, keeping the line fresh and the pressure consistent for opposing offensive lines.

So here, it's easy to put Harrison, who will likely anchor one of the ends for the Buckeyes' defensive line, along with Tuimoloau, who garnered 286 snaps for Ohio State in his freshman season. Expect Sawyer, Friday and Javontae Jean-Baptiste to rotate in as well.

This is Harrison's room.

Leading all defensive ends with 558 snaps a season ago, his production didn't seem to match the amount of time he spent on the field, recording 34 tackles, eight tackles-for-loss and four sacks: solid numbers, sure, but not the dominance the Buckeyes are used to.

So now, taking a chance at coming back as a projected mid-to-late second-day pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Harrison, with a new defensive scheme to work with, seems to expect 2022 to be the season where he matches the expectations placed on him at the high school level, coming into the program as a five-star defensive end, the No. 23 prospect in the country and the top prospect out of the state of Ohio.

For all the talk about Tuimoloau and Sawyer and their dominance, this room and the pressure it provides seems to hinge on the production of one of its most senior members. Can defensive coordinator Jim Knowles bring that side out of Harrison?

Cornerback

Offensive line

Safety

Tight end

Linebacker

Wide receiver