Head coach Urban Meyer and Ohio State have to replace eight starters from last year’s national championship team, but overcoming the loss of Michael Bennett will be the Buckeyes’ stiffest challenge as they begin their quest to repeat in 2015.
The 6’2″, 288-pound defensive tackle spurned the NFL to return for his senior season last year—a decision Bennett made to grow as a player and a leader.
“I had a lot of growth I had to do,” Bennett said, according to Chase Goodbread of NFL.com. “Not just physically, but mentally. I got a lot bigger, my technique got better, I got faster. I grew as a leader and person, especially with the experiences we’ve had to go through this year.”
Bennett emphatically achieved those goals during a stellar 2014 campaign, which aided the Buckeyes as they marched through the first ever College Football Playoff.
But Bennett’s ability and leadership—paired with a lack of depth along the interior of Ohio State’s defensive line—make his departure the biggest obstacle for the Buckeyes to overcome this season.
The Talent
As noted by Doug Lesmerises of Northeast Ohio Media Group, Bennett was expected to anchor a defensive line that featured three potential first-round NFL draft picks last season.
With Joey Bosa and Noah Spence on the edges, there was talk of the 2014 Buckeyes featuring the best defensive line Meyer ever coached—even better than his 2006 unit at Florida that bulldozed Ohio…
Continue Reading: Replacing Michael Bennett Will Be Ohio State’s Toughest Challenge in 2015
