A series of profiles on members of the Buckeyes’ 2020 recruiting class who redshirted their true freshman seasons, including a look back at how their first year went, and an evaluation of where they stand in the program ahead of 2021.
If you think the bullet position begins and ends with the names Craig Young and Ronnie Hickman this season for Ohio State, you might need to reevaluate that line of thought.
Former four-star St. John Bosco outside linebacker and Rivals100 prospect Kourt Williams could be a darkhorse difference-maker for the Buckeye defense in 2021, following a true freshman campaign that was lost to a torn ACL in the preseason.
Williams may have been a linebacker coming out of Bellflower, California, but the prospect that has long been touted by head coach Ryan Day as a potential future captain for the Buckeye football program was quickly listed at safety upon arriving on campus at Ohio State.
At 6-foot-1, 215 pounds though, Williams would be quite a physical specimen at a traditional safety spot.
Josh Proctor and Marcus Hooker, the two safeties that logged the most snaps for the Buckeyes last season, are 195 and 200 pounds, respectively. Hickman, another emerging talent listed at safety, weighs in at 205.
Perhaps Williams' talents as a hybrid-style playmaker in the back seven may have gone scarcely utilized a year ago, when the Buckeyes had a handful of dependable veterans at each traditional linebacker spot.
This year though, as Ohio State makes some schematic tweaks to address its deficiencies against opposing pass attacks, the bullet may be unveiled in a way it never had to be before due to the versatility of players like Pete Werner, Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard at the Sam LB position.
Young and Hickman may have seen the reps at that spot in April’s spring game, but defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs reminded us shortly thereafter that Williams is in that picture as well.
“Any time you're putting together a package, you're gonna try to make sure that the defense is emphasizing your players’ strengths, and not exposing their weaknesses,” Coombs said. “And so, while those two kids are different, and Kourt Williams would be the third piece of that puzzle, you're looking at different types of players. When they're on the field, you're going to want to emphasize what they do best.”
Young has been the name most synonymous with the hybrid position thus far this offseason, but the different builds possessed by all three players could give Coombs and company some versatility to plug them in for different situations.
Hickman’s measurables are more akin to a pure defensive back, while Young’s 6-foot-3, 223-pound frame make him more like a lengthy linebacker. Williams is somewhere in between the two, with the stockiest build of the bunch.
Before we know what Williams’ place in the Buckeye defense will be this season though, he’ll have to get back on the field for full-contact reps, something he was not able to do while continuing his rehab this spring.
