Ohio State senior defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (97) and senior linebacker Sonny Styles (0) celebrate a defensive stop during the game against Wisconsin Saturday. The No. 1 Buckeyes defeated the Badgers 34-0. Credit: Sandra Fu | Managing Photo Editor
Jack Sawyer’s strip-sack touchdown in the Cotton Bowl. Eight takedowns of Oregon’s quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the Rose Bowl. A defensive line that wrecked everything in its path and helped deliver a national title.
That was 2024.
Now, with starters Sawyer, J.T. Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton gone to the NFL, Ohio State’s new front, the “no names,” as Caden Curry calls them, is striving to write its own story.
The unit has totaled 14.5 sacks, one and a half more than last year’s group through the same span, and has recorded at least one in every game. Unlike the 2024 front, which rarely substituted its starters, this season’s defense has thrived on depth.
The Buckeyes lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 5.8 points per game, and have had seven different players record sacks.
“It’s been fun having that many pieces and that much depth,” first-year defensive coordinator Matt Patricia said.
While production has been spread across the line, Curry has emerged as the face of the new group. His Week four performance at Washington turned heads, as he recorded three of his team-leading seven sacks and tied a school record with five tackles for loss.
The senior has had a sack in four of the last five games and plays with an energy that sets the tone for the defense.
“If we’re going to reach our goals this year and get to where we need to be, we need Caden to be the playmaker he is right now for us,” head coach Ryan Day said. “He plays with a high motor and just has a great feel for the game.”
Alongside Curry, defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and North Carolina transfer Beau Atkinson have combined for three and a half takedowns, while interior linemen Kayden McDonald and Zion Grady have added four more.
Much of that disruption has come from Patricia’s creativity, with varied looks that have unlocked the line’s potential.
Patricia’s “penny” front, a scheme that lines up three interior linemen to control the trenches and two edge rushers to pressure from the outside, has wreaked havoc on opposing offenses. Linebacker Arvell Reese has thrived in the system, often lining up on the edge and totaling five and a half sacks.
His blitz packages have freed up pressure from all levels, including from cornerback Jermaine Matthews Jr., who recorded a strip-sack in the third quarter against Illinois that highlighted the chaos Patricia’s scheme creates.
“I think Matt does a really good job of changing up looks,” Day said. “The guys are believing in it, and that starts up front.”
Even with Patricia’s scheme spreading pressure across the field, the defensive line has remained the foundation, setting the tone with its physicality and control at the line of scrimmage.
Much of the group has been together for at least a season and learned from last year’s elite front.
“We saw that great defensive line last year, and we just learned every day off of them,” Curry said.
While the new-look defensive line may not have the star power of last year’s national championship front, it is proving just as dominant. And those “no names” may end the year as household ones.
