Ohio State is loaded with talent all over the roster, but that doesn’t mean depth may not be an issue in some places. One of the areas that the SEC originally began to separate itself from other conferences was in maintaining elite, deep defensive lines. That was one of the first position groups that Urban Meyer addressed with recruiting when he got to Ohio State, maintaining the commitments of blue chipper Adolphus Washington and quickly adding Joey Bosa and Noah Spence. With only Tyquan Lewis returning as a starter in 2016 and poor performance in a few key metrics, the defensive line may be the area of most concern for Ohio State’s defense — and potentially, for Ohio State’s season as a whole. While the defensive backfield also has to replace three former starters, many of the potential starters like Damon Webb, Cam Burrows, Malik Hooker, Erick Smith, and Marshon Lattimore are all former blue chip recruits and have been in the system for a long time. But there are only four defensive linemen that return with any statistical significant experience: Lewis, Sam Hubbard, Jalyn Holmes, and Michael Hill. The key is keeping defensive linemen fresh by creating a deep rotation. With a limited rotation, defensive S&P+ tends to dip by quarter as opposing offensive lines begin to take control of the tiring defensive line. That wasn’t a problem for last year’s Buckeyes. which averaged 12th, 8th, 7th, and 14th in defensive S&P+ by quarter. By rotating in three high-level backups in…
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