Ohio State Football: Projecting the Defensive Depth Chart for the Season Opener

Pictured above is the man likely to become the new LB/DL coach at Ohio State: three-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year Mike Vrabel.

This may be the only bit of good news at Ohio State this summer for very obvious reasons, but it should be enough to get people excited, at least a little bit, about the prospects of another great Buckeye coaching a young defense.

And the defense could use some shaping after losing seven starters, including five players drafted into the NFL.

But Vrabel, defensive coordinator Jim Heacock and head coach Luke Fickell do have a lot of talent at their disposal and a chance to mold together another dominant unit.

Here is a prediction of what the defensive depth chart will look like on September 3 when Ohio State kicks off the post-Tressel era against Akron.

LDE: Nathan Williams, J.T. Moore

When it comes to pure, relentless pass rushers, Nathan Williams is the posterboy Ohio State has for that description. 

Similar to a poor man's Mike Vrabel, Williams has a non-stop motor and the athleticism to create havoc off the edge. 

He has been a big-time contributor since his freshman season in 2008 and looked very disruptive at times in 2010, even though his numbers didn't show that. The big reason was that OSU's defensive line was so quick that teams often resorted to throwing out of quick drops to keep the line from getting in the backfield.

But the backup to keep an eye on is redshirt freshman J.T. Moore, who had a very intriguing performance in the spring scrimmage back in April, and he should be a guy to watch for in the future.

LDT: Garrett Goebel, Adam Bellamy

It's very likely that OSU's main defensive stud, John Simon, will move to end much like Cameron Heyward did when he was a junior.

That will open the door for one of the more unheralded players of the Brew Crew class of 2008, Garrett Goebel.

He has good quickness and the ability to be a stuffer in the middle. He was a great wrestler in high school, so he has the ability to keep guards contained at the line on running plays.

Backup Adam Bellamy showed plenty of flashes of what he can be during the Sugar Bowl against Arkansas, which was, of course, recently vacated by Ohio State. 

RDT: Johnathan Hankins, Joel Hale

There may not have been too many 4-3 nose guards with incredible skill since Dan "Big Daddy" Wilkinson back in the early 1990s, but sophomore Johnathan Hankins does have the potential to have his name mentioned alongside him one day.

Hankins was a late addition to the 2010 class, but surprised a lot of people not only getting on the field as a true freshman, but being very effective at clogging up running lanes in the middle of the line.

He has surprising quickness for his 330-pound frame and could come into this season more fit and conditioned to handle a starting job than he was a year ago.

The main backups for his position will likely be some of the freshman in a loaded 2011 class, including early-enrollee Joel Hale, who has drawn some rave reviews from his teammates in spring workouts.

RDE: John Simon, Steve Miller

John Simon may have the most decorated resume of defensive linemen in the Big Ten with the exception of Nebraska's Jared Crick. 

Simon is an athletic freak with incredible speed at 270 lbs. and can be just a force on the defensive line.

He will likely be moved to the end where his skills of bull-rushing will have to change slightly, now being more mindful of not only holding down the edge, but possibly taking a bigger responsibility in pass coverage.

But he has shown that the ability and potential are there, and he has shown as well that he is a quick study.

The main backups behind Simon will likely be two of OSU's stud DL freshmen: Kenny Hayes and Steve Miller.

WLB: Tyler Moeller, Ryan Shazier

Moeller has been the prototypical STAR backer for Ohio State, which is, in other words, a S/LB hybrid since 2008, where he became a difference-maker on defense.

But injuries in 2009 and 2010, including a potential career-ending head injuries he suffered due to the incident in Florida involving Ralph Gray Decker, have limited him to very little action.

With two voids in the LB corps, there is a sure bet that a difference-maker like Moeller has a chance to fill a spot due to his incredible athleticism and hitting force in the middle of the defense.

Players have described the edge and nastiness the defense has when Moeller is on the field, compared to when he isn't on the field. 

Early-enrollee Ryan Shazier is just as athletic as any backer on the defense but might only get time in passing situations during his freshman season.

MLB: Etienne Sabino, Storm Klein

The MLB spot at Ohio State has been home to quite a lot of talented players in recent seasons: Matt Wilhelm, A.J. Hawk, James Laurinaitis and Brian Rolle.

Blue-chip prospect Etienne Sabino seems to be next in line for the job after taking a redshirt season to learn the position mentally, and he seems to be a different player.

He has all the athletic tools at 240 lbs and the speed to be a fantastic MLB, but we will get a chance to see if he has the next-level awareness and reading ability that Hawk and Laurinaitis had, which made them special players.

Third-year player Storm Klein is another athletically-gifted backer, and he is a local folk hero in some circles in Columbus from his high school days in a small suburb town north of OSU.

SLB: Andrew Sweat, Curtis Grant

Of all of the talented players OSU has at the LB position, the only returning starter might be the most overlooked of the bunch.

And while Andrew Sweat is not the flashiest player out there, he certainly is among the most productive players on the team.

He is a very cerebral player with strength and a very good open-field tackler. He had a chance to learn the OLB position from three-year starter Ross Homan, and he seems like a Homan clone, which is a good thing to have on Fickell and Vrabel's defense.

With Dorian Bell suspended for the whole season, consensus five-star LB Curtis Grant seems like a shoo-in as a backup.

He has the size to play at this level immediately and will benefit not only from Vrabel's coaching, but from the veteran leadership of players like Sweat. Grant has all the ability to be the next star LB at Ohio State.

LCB: Travis Howard, Bradley Roby

Replacing a talented corner like Chimdi Chekwa is not an easy thing to do. But if the hype of Travis Howard is real, he may make people forget about Chekwa soon enough.

Howard burst onto the scene in the second half of last season, making two INTs, including a TD against Penn State, and he played well in relief of Chekwa due to injury in the Sugar Bowl.

By most accounts, Howard played like an All-American during spring practice, and he has the athletic ability to be a pure shutdown corner.

The depth at corner was tested heavily during the Sugar Bowl, but players like Howard rose to the task, and then-backups like Dominic Clarke rose up to the occasion.

Bradley Roby, who red-shirted last season, was another player who looked strong in the spring.

RCB: Dominic Clarke, Dionte Allen

Speaking of Dominic Clarke, this is a guy that could very likely swoop up the other starting CB job this season.

He had a good showing in the Sugar Bowl and continued to elevate his play in the spring game.

Right now, it looks like a three-horse race for the other starting job between Roby, Clarke and FSU transfer Dionte Allen.

But Clarke's burst and speed, along with underrated ball skills, should net him the inside track to the second starting job.

However, this position battle is just as wide open as the QB position supposedly will be with as many as three player fighting for this job.

FS: Orhian Johnson, Jeremy Cash

Of the four returning starters on the defense, none had to deal with growing pains like Orhian Johnson.

Thrust into starting duty after a knee injury to C.J. Barnett, Johnson struggled in the early going of the season.

But he soon grew and developed into a solid starting free safety with solid pass coverage skills.

His athleticism and experience at seeing the field as a QB has started to slowly translate to the safety position, and he could blossom into a very good FS this season.

Most of the depth at the safety position leans toward SS than free safety, so freshman Jeremy Cash, an early-enrollee, could get some good playing time due to some good coverage skills he showed in spring workouts.

SS: C.J. Barnett, Corey Brown

If any player's promising debut left us wanting more, that player would without a doubt be C.J. Barnett, whose fantastic start to his Buckeye career ended abruptly with a knee injury in the September 11 game last year against Miami.

In that game, he showed flashes of elite talent, setting up a deflection leading to a big interception early in the game and throwing huge hits the late Jack Tatum would be proud of.

Barnett should be healthy when fall camps start, and even though he could be slowed down a bit from the painful injury, he can still be a very good safety, much like Kurt Coleman not too long ago.

Backup Corey Brown was also slowed down by a season-ending knee injury he suffered in the middle of 2010.

But a move from corner to safety could help him see the field in the future and become a very productive player.

STAR: Christian Bryant, Corey Brown

The STAR position has only been around for three seasons but has fielded a good set of talented players in Jermale Hines and Tyler Moeller.

But in sophomore corner Christian Bryant, OSU has a different type of player at the STAR position, one who is more of a pass defender versus an athletic run stuffer.

Bryant is a very different player from his predecessors, but he has great tacking ability and can cover as the third linebacker or third safety in nickel sets.

He will eventually move to corner since he has the ability to cover, but he can become another difference-maker if he can build off his good contributions as a true freshman last season.

Corey Brown can also find some time at the STAR position due to his athleticism and ability to cover.

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