Ohio State Football: 3 Players Most Responsible for Replacing John Simon

It's hard to think about an Ohio State football team without John Simon lining up at DE because of the outstanding career he had.

Simon was a difference-maker throughout his entire four-year career at Ohio State, and he was the heart and soul of the Buckeye defense during his time in Columbus.

He was athletic, intelligent and relentless, which made him such a great player.

But like it always is in college, players move on and the next crop of players has to step in and follow in the footsteps of those who have already gone.

Simon's shoes aren't easy to fill, but the Buckeyes do have three players who could potentially live up to his legacy.

Noah Spence

Noah Spence was the crown jewel of Urban Meyer's first recruiting class as the coach of the Buckeyes.

He didn't get a chance to show it on the stat sheet as a freshman, but he did play frequently and showed some flashes of brilliance.

In the spring, Spence proved that he was worthy of the hype by having an outstanding series of practices, cementing himself as probably the team's top pass-rusher going into this season.

He will have to prove he can sustain it during a full season, but he appears well on his way.

Adolphus Washington

As good as Noah Spence is expected to be, pretty much the same can be said for the man expected to line up on the other side of the defensive line: Adolphus Washington.

While Spence is more of a pure pass-rusher, Washington is built more like Cam Heyward, with the ability to be a more well-rounded end who can both get to the quarterback as well as hold the edge in the running game.

Meyer and the other coaches expect Washington to play with the intensity and fire that Simon did as well as bring his raw athleticism to the field.

If he can do that, he and Spence are going to be an outstanding duo on the defensive line.

Joey Bosa

Joey Bosa has not stepped foot on Ohio State's campus just yet, but watching him on film should give Buckeye fans a feeling of deja vu.

Bosa almost looks like a clone of John Simon, except he has a little more height coming in than Simon did.

Bosa has an absolutely relentless motor, with a nose for the football and disrupting the offense.

It's a lot to ask a true freshman to fill the shoes left behind by Simon. Then again, it only took two games into his career for Simon to make his presence felt when he shined in the loss to USC in 2009.

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