OSU/Youngstown St. Defensive Scouting Report

When you don't let the opponent score, you can do no worse than a tie.  That is a pretty good start.

By Bill Smith

Outstanding

OSU's defense was nothing short of outstanding.  We all expected the first team to totally control the YS offense and they did.  But I was particularly impressed with the job that the second and third units did as well.  It bodes well for the Buckeyes for years to come.  There were a lot of future All Americans that got some good experience.  It was a great tribute to the recruiting that the OSU staff has done over the last couple of years.

The units of the D worked great together.  When the D-line was having some trouble getting to the QB, the back 7 covered a little tighter to give the line more time.  When the WRs of YS got open, the D-line made sure that the QB didn't have the time to find them. 

A couple of guys really stuck out.

Probably the most impressive defensive player was Marcus Freeman.  Freeman was doing absolutely everything the NFL would ask an outside linebacker to do.  He was rushing the QB and getting scouting points for a couple of hurries.  He was stuffing the run behind the line of scrimmage.  On the next play he was wearing a receiver like an overcoat that was a couple of sizes too small.  He was completely unstoppable.

As usual, James Laurinaitis was on patrol.  He had his typical solid game. 

I was also very pleased with the performance of the D-Backfield.  Malcolm Jenkins won't see many passes his way because the Big 10 has learned that there is no future in martyrdom.  That is exactly what passing Jenkins' way is.  That will give the other backs a better chance to get interceptions.  They are very talented as well.

When the Defense is so effective that it only makes a cameo appearance in the game, it is hard to do a lot of analysis.  When a D holds the opponent to -11 rushing yards and 74 total net yards, they all get team scouting points.  Let me say that the D played outstanding football.  

Bill Smith is a former coach of several semi-pro teams and has scouted talent.  He is a senior writer for http://BrutusReport.com.  He has also published several novels on http://ebooks-library.com/index.cfm and edits http://fryingpanpolitics.blog.com