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