Junior defensive end Jack Sawyer (33) puts on his helmet during then-No. 2 Ohio State’s 21-10 win over then-No. 5 Notre Dame on Sept. 3, 2022. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Former Photo Editor
The Buckeyes have seen the likes of Sam Hubbard, Chase Young and the Bosa brothers, in recent years.
For a while, fans were spoiled with the overflow of talent coming through the defensive end room, developing, and eventually making their way to the NFL.
This year might turn out to be one for the record books, especially in junior defensive end Jack Sawyer’s opinion.
“On the defensive side of the ball, our mindset is ‘We’re going to win games this year,’” Sawyer said. “We’re not going to leave it up to the offense having to score 40-50 points a game.”
Sawyer was named the No. 1 end in Ohio and earned his five-star 247Sports prospect rating just 30 minutes down the road from Columbus at Pickerington High School North.
In high school, Sawyer split his time under center at quarterback and defensive end. He also made use of his winters on the basketball court, making varsity as a freshman.
That story repeated itself, in a way, at Ohio State. As a true freshman, Sawyer played in all 13 games for the Buckeyes, made nine tackles — three for loss — and notched three quarterback sacks.
In 2022, Sawyer split his time between defensive end and a hybrid linebacker/end position called “Jack.” This offseason, Sawyer and the coaching staff concluded that his being a full-time end would be a better fit.
“I feel happy about it,” Sawyer said. “When me, coach [Jim] Knowles (defensive coordinator) and [head] coach [Ryan] Day talked about it after the season, that’s what I wanted to do and that’s what they thought I was best at, too.”
His time playing at the Jack position did help improve his game. Junior defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau said he has noticed a change in Sawyer’s mental toughness.
“He reads things a lot better, and it helped his mind,” Tuimoloau said. “Jack is a difficult position. He came, brought that mindset — that hunger mindset — and just kept it going.”
Sawyer said he feels comfortable heading into the season and even lost nearly 7 percent body fat in the offseason months.
It helps that Sawyer’s counterpart is a disruptor in his own regard.
On Monday, Tuimoloau was announced as one of Ohio State’s five Associated Press Preseason All-Americans and added to the Lombardi Trophy watchlist, which is awarded to the best lineman in the nation.
Tuimoloau and Sawyer work in conjunction and complement each other with their energy. The pair said they plan on being a “dangerous” duo this season.
“I see him on that end, and we just feed off one another,” Tuimoloau said. “When he’s hype, I’m hype.”
Knowles said one thing he has to work on is preserving his best players to keep them healthy through the season’s entirety but he can’t do this without strong, game-ready guys behind Sawyer and Tuimoloau.
He said sophomores Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry will also get their chance at disrupting the offense off the edge, and their improvement throughout camp has been monumental.
“We have four ends now that I think are as good as anyone in the country. I think the depth there is fantastic,” Knowles said. “J.T., Jack, Kenyatta, Caden Curry is just a guy who’s gonna show up and make plays.”
Last season, the Ohio State “rushmen” were fourth in the Big Ten with 34 sacks for 205 yards.
Could this year’s edge rushers — with Sawyer bent over at the line every snap this year — be the difference between fourth and first place in the sacks column?
