COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football’s 2019 defense came loaded from every angle. The Heisman Trophy finalist storming off the edge. The underrated elder statesman at linebacker. Perhaps the nation’s best defensive back in the secondary. A total of 12 Buckeye defenders earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition. Only four of those players return, however. When the votes for cleveland.com’s 10th annual Big Ten Preseason Poll came in last week, you could see the ground had shifted somewhat. OSU cornerback Shaun Wade ranked a distant second to Penn State’s Micah Parsons for preseason Player of the Year. Defensive end Zach Harrison — on two of 34 ballots — drew the only other Buckeye mention. Awards voting can be fickle, and thus aspiring for such recognition can be a fool’s errand for a player. Yet the Buckeyes’ championship push in 2020 may hinge on which other defenders behind Wade make a…
Continue Reading: Ohio State football’s defense, under the radar in the preseason, needs a star-making 2020: Buckeye Take
