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 linebackers.
2021 recap
The linebacker room was at the center of the turmoil that was the Ohio State defense in 2021 even after Dallas Gant and K'Vaughan Pope entered the transfer portal within one week of each other in the first third of the season.
For a unit that found itself in the bottom half of the league in points allowed (22.8) and yards allowed (372.9), many problems came from the middle, starting with four linebackers coming in at the top eight of Ohio State defenders in terms of missed tackles, with Tommy Eichenberg, Teradja Mitchell, Cody Simon and Steele Chambers combining for 39 of the team's 152 missed tackles.
In a pass game that was attacked mostly in the middle of the field by opposing offenses, those same four linebackers allowed quarterbacks to complete 79% of their targets toward them, per Pro Football Focus, allowing 793 passing yards and five touchdowns.
Chambers finished as Ohio State's highest-rated linebacker in his first season after transitioning from running back, finishing the season with 47 tackles, two pass deflections, a forced fumble and an interception.
Progress was shown in the Buckeyes' Rose Bowl win against Utah, with Eichenberg leading the way with 17 tackles, along with six by newcomer Cade Stover.
2022 outlook
Departing: None
Returning: Teradja Mitchell, Mitchell Melton, Palaie Gaoteote IV, Steele Chambers, Reid Carrico, Cody Simon, Tommy Eichenberg, Ryan Batsch, Cade Kacherski, Jackson Kuwatch, Jalen Pace
All of Ohio State's movement at the linebacker position came in the middle of the 2021 season with Gant and Pope's departure from the program.
From there, the Buckeyes have everybody from the room returning for another season in 2022, from starters in Chambers, Simon and Eichenberg, to Mitchell and Palaie Gaoteote IV — both fifth-year seniors — and players like Mitchell Melton, who was also practicing with the defensive ends during the first week of spring practice, and Reid Carrico, who have not had the chance to prove themselves at the college level.
Some of this has to do with the amount of depth the Buckeyes lost at linebacker after the 2020 season with Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard all departing from the program. But it also has to do with the struggles of the room, each returning with the chance to turn things around with a new leader in charge of the room in defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jim Knowles.
Incoming: Cade Stover (Possibly from TE), C.J. Hicks, Chip Trayanum, Gabe Powers, Elias Myers, Sonny Styles
Ohio State got a preview of what Stover could do at the linebacker spot in the Rose Bowl. And that's where the Buckeyes have him at the start of spring practice, working with the linebackers with the opportunity to return to tight end if he chose to.
Stover's not the only newcomer in the room that's working on a position change.
After playing two seasons as a running back for Arizona State, Chip Trayanum is back in his home state and is moving to linebacker, a position he played at Hoban High School in Akron.
With Trayanum and Stover come Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks, two of the Buckeyes' top defensive recruits in the 2022 class from the state of Ohio. While Powers projects more as a end rusher, possibly coming in as a candidate for Knowles' Leo position, Hicks will likely find himself anchoring the defense in the middle before his career is over with.
And seemingly coming in without a set defensive position, Sonny Styles will likely find a home as Knowles' true safety/linebacker hybrid.
Projected starters: Tommy Eichenberg (Mike), Steele Chambers (Will), Cade Stover (Sam)
Ohio State's linebacker room is full. Overflowing, possibly.
Here's the thing: in Knowles' defense, there's really only two spots to give: the middle linebacker and the outside linebacker spots in a 4-2-5 look.
Chambers and Eichenberg are projected to take charge of the outside and the middle linebacker spots, respectively, with Simon, who had offseason shoulder surgery, serving as the direct backup at the Mike, along with Mitchell.
Other than those four, the depth chart and the positions they play will kind of be a free-for-all, especially without that third linebacker spot all the time, which Stover would likely be at the front of the line for.
Spring practice storyline to watch
The main thing to watch for the linebackers is really the same thing as what the main thing to watch for the entire defense: how Knowles transforms the room.
In his 4-2-5 front, Ohio State's new defensive coordinator said he wants the two to have nearly identical skillsets: to be able to clog rushing lanes as a run stopper and have the speed and athleticism to be able to play on the outside in space.
“There's not much difference between our two linebacker positions,” Knowles said. “They really need to be able to play in the box, and then space on the edge in the box. In space, blitz and cover. So we're really looking for complete versatility out of those positions."
How will his philosophy translate to a room that's seemingly filled with players who have something to prove whether it's after a rough 2021, season, high expectations coming into 2022 or changing positions from offense to defense?
It seems like Knowles' defensive transformation will begin from his own linebacker room. How will that look for the Buckeyes when the spring game arrives?
