Explaining how the Ohio State defense combines talent, experience in 2024

There is little worry about the Ohio State defense heading into the 2024 football season, thanks to a slew of returners off an elite unit in 2023 plus several top transfer additions.

There’s no two ways about it: this coming fall, Ohio State expects to win — to beat Michigan and get back on top of that rivalry, to win the Big Ten, and certainly to win enough games to make the College Football Playoff. According to Spencer Holbrook of Letterman Row, the Buckeye offense is still a question, but the defense will absolutely be good enough.

After a terrific year on that side of the ball in 2023, with the core of that unit back, Holbrook expects a filthy defense in Columbus this fall.

“The defense is just SO good,” he commented to Andy Staples on the On3 YouTube channel Monday morning, explaining how the Buckeyes plugged what few holes they did have on defense this offseason.

“They lost Josh Proctor to the NFL, replaced him with Caleb Downs, he needs no introduction. They lost both starting linebackers and replaced them with two former five-stars. They lost a defensive tackle and replace him with a partial starter from last year and two top-50 prospects that were rising up the ranks last year.”

Other than those couple moves, Ohio State’s terrific 2023 defense is otherwise intact.

“That’s it. Everyone else returns. No. 1 pass defense in the country, all three corners, they’re all back. The linebackers look better in coverage than they were last year. I don’t see a hole in this defense right now, because this defense was so good a year ago, and Jim Knowles is getting even more comfortable in Columbus in year three.”

Staples commented that this is a roster you can trust on defense, since it’s full of guys who have proven themselves, whether at OSU last year or at another school, like Alabama in Downs’ case.

“With Ohio State’s defense, they bring back all of these guys that we have seen be incredibly successful and they have upgraded the talent with other players who we have seen be successful at a high level elsewhere,” said Staples.

Holbrook also noted that Ohio State was fortunate to get some potential pros on defense who decided to return to school when they could have entered the NFL Draft.

“Everybody wants to point to the NIL operation at Ohio State, and yes, they did a great job bringing those guys back, but you know, I promise JT Tuimoloau was going to make more money in a couple weeks in the NFL Draft than he is from NIL. Jack Sawyer, the exact same way.”

With those guys back, plus a massive transfer class, the chips are all in on 2024 for Ryan Day and the Buckeyes, per Holbrook.

“They did this to prove a point, to do the things Ryan Day (said) out there at the 50-yard line, just kind of came out and said it, they have very clearly defined goals.”

The quest for the CFP starts now.