Zach Harrison believes Buckeyes returning defensive ends 'are going to be real dominant'

INDIANAPOLIS — Ohio State has a defensive end lineage. Look no further than Nick Bosa, who just led the NFL in sacks for the San Francisco 49ers and earned AP Defensive Player of the Year honors. Bosa’s older brother, Joey, is a four-time Pro Bowler. Chase Young, like the Bosa brothers, won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year his first year in the league, too.

Factor in recent draftees Tyreke Smith and Jonathon Cooper, and you already have an extensive list of NFL edge rushers who were playing for the Buckeyes within the last eight years.

Zach Harrison is next in line. Harrison, an Ohio State captain this past season, led the Buckeyes with 33 pressures generated in 2022, per Pro Football Focus. He also registered 3.5 sacks, 34 total tackles, 8.0 TFLs, a trio of forced fumbles and an interception.

Because of the aforementioned lineage, Harrison leaving doesn’t leave as big of a dent in the Buckeyes’ defensive line as most programs would suffer. Harrison was asked Wednesday at the NFL Combine about Ohio State’s returners off the edge.

“I feel those guys are going to be real dominant, the best in the country, leading the nation in sacks, TFLs and all that, because everybody in that room is a great ballplayer,” Harrison said. “Everybody in the room has potential through the roof, and I know that they want to work and they want it. They want it bad. I’m excited to see what they do next year.”

Harrison continued: “You’ve seen J.T. and Jack [Sawyer] play, but one guy I’m excited about is Caden Curry, a freshman,” Harrison said. “He’s gonna be a real good player, just the way he moves and his motor never stops. I’m excited to see what he does. Really just everybody but he’s a guy stands out to me that’s going to going to be a real good player.”

J.T. Tuimoloau flashed his star potential this past season, most notably turning in a game-wrecking performance at Penn State when he was the catalyst for four Buckeyes takeaways. Jack Sawyer was at the JACK/LEO spot in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ 4-2-5 system for the majority of his snaps in 2022, but Sawyer could line up opposite of Tuimoloau at defensive end this coming fall.

Sawyer was the No. 4 overall prospect in the 2021 class, according to On3. As a sophomore, Sawyer was fourth on the team with 22 pressures and tied for first with 4.5 sacks this past season. Curry, on the other hand, is coming up on his sophomore season. Last year, he appeared in 12 games for the Buckeyes and earned defensive snaps in eight of those contests, eclipsing the double-digit mark five times. The 6-foot-3 Curry posted 14 total tackles, namely 11 solos, and half a sack.

“Caden was the first guy who came to my mind,” Harrison said.

Harrison also mentioned Omari Abor and Kenyatta Jackson, both of whom were in Curry’s class. Abor played only eight snaps in 2022, and they all came against Arkansa State. Jackson saw the field a bit more, appearing in three games, each of which were before Ohio State’s bye week. The only Big Ten game Jackson participated in was against Rutgers.

The plus side to their limited playing time is that they preserved their redshirts. And because of how deep D-Line coach Larry Johnson’s rotation runs, both Abor and Jackson could come in handy in 2023.

“Omari is still figuring it out but can see flashes where it’s in there and he’s going to pull it out,” Harrison said. “He just has to get in the weight room and get a little bigger. I’m excited to see what Omari does. He’s gonna be a real good player for the Buckeyes in the future.”

Harrison continued: “The same for K.J. (Kenyatta Jackson). He’s a young guy so it’s OK. K.J. is gonna be one of those guys to be the next up because some of the things he does he doesn’t even realize they’re special because he’s out there just playing football. I’m telling him, ‘K.J., not everybody can do what you just did.’ He doesn’t even realize that. He’s still young. So I’m excited to see those guys. They’re all going to get bigger, stronger, faster, and just get more confident in their body and technique and playing speed.”