OSU defense remains committed to ‘Jack’ position

Part of Jim Knowles’ vision for the intricate defense he installed at Ohio State a year ago was a versatile edge rusher.

Known as the “Jack” position, the hybrid defensive end and linebacker was designed to wreak havoc at the line of scrimmage.

But looking back on his first season running the Buckeyes’ defense, Knowles estimated they lined up with the “Jack” just 15% of the time.

“We weren’t as productive out of it,” Knowles said. “You have to go with what works.”

The position had been a fixture in Knowles’ scheme in his previous stop at Oklahoma State, contributing to the

Cowboys’ 56 sacks in 2021, the secondmost among any team in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The disruption they caused in the backfield trailed only Alabama.

He expected its use would decline at Ohio State, which had built its roster in a way to rely on traditional four-down linemen as part of its base defense rather than three-down fronts coupled with stand-up defenders.

Knowles’ hope, though, was that the role might still be used for at least a third of the snaps.

In the immediate future at least, the “Jack” is unlikely to grow in prominence. As spring practice began on Tuesday, Knowles said he was unsure how much they would incorporate the role over the weeks leading up to the spring game on April 15, seemingly putting it off for now.

Part of that is the result of the available personnel.

Jack Sawyer, who stepped up at the spot as a sophomore last fall, will be a dedicated defensive end, positioning him for the possibility of starting opposite J.T. Tuimoloau.

“He’ll work on all those fundamentals of being an end,” Knowles said. “I think that’s important for Jack. He didn’t have the improvement or the big jump he could have last year, because he got involved in the ‘Jack’ stuff, and maybe he wasn’t as focused as he could have been to make those improvements at dend.”

While juggling multiple positions, Sawyer still ended up with 4.5 sacks, a total that tied with defensive tackle Mike Hall for the most among the Buckeyes.

With Sawyer lining up solely as an end, the move opens up the potential of Mitchell Melton playing the “Jack” next fall.

But Melton, who is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament tear that sidelined him for all of last season, is likely to remain limited to individual drills in spring practice.

Despite the present uncertainty with the position, Knowles said he “absolutely” sees the role being the focus of future recruiting efforts and remaining part of the defense in the long term.

“We could get the best combo player in the country when we target one down the road,” Knowles said. “We’re Ohio State. That’s a position people don’t have. We can target the best one and build toward that and work toward that.”