COLUMBUS, Ohio — There are nine Ohio State scholarship linebackers battling for playing time, and none of them have shown exactly who they are yet. Transfers, injuries, position switches, job losses, inexperience — the paths to this crowded room have been winding. Last season, Cody Simon, Tommy Eichenberg, Steele Chambers and Teradja Mitchell all played between 450 and 350 snaps as the four leading OSU linebackers. In comparison, in 2019, the previous full year of OSU football, Malik Harrison led the linebackers with more than 700 snaps and Pete Werner played almost 600. Add in transfers Chip Trayanum (who arrived this season from Arizona State), and Palaie Gaoteote (who arrived last year from USC); second-year player Reid Carrico, who played a handful of defensive snaps last season; and true freshmen C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers, and the room goes nine deep. That doesn’t count Mitchell Melton, who is out for…
Continue Reading: Ohio State’s fastest linebacker? Strongest? Smartest? The Buckeyes reveal answers in a crowded room
