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Fall Camp Wrap Up and Depth Chart Comments - Defense
By John Porentas

We've taken a look at the offensive depth chart and made our comments, now we'll take a look at the defense.

Defensive Ends: The biggest surprise at defensive end is not the pecking order but rather the fact that Curtis Terry is listed as a defensive end. After spending his entire career as a linebacker Terry moved over to fullback last spring, only to suddenly reappear on the defense this fall as a defensive end. Lawrence Wilson likes the move.

"Curtis always brings it. He a big strong guy, he's a physical guy. When you see Curtis he's going to bring the thunder. He's going to bring it and try to knock your head off and that's always good to have," said Wilson.

Other than Terry there weren't any surprises on the depth chart. What the depth chart doesn't indicate is that both Cameron Heyward and his backup, Robert Rose, may both see action on the interior of the defensive line this year, especially in passing situations.

Wilson returns to the lineup after missing last season with a broken leg. He says he is 100 percent physically and will play at a lower playing weight this year. Last year he played in the 275 range. This year he is more like 260-265 and he likes it that way.

"I feel quicker, a lot quicker, and I don't get as tired as fast," he said. "I'm stronger physically but I've lost weight. That's always a plus."

Defensive Tackles: The biggest surprise here is that Nadar Abdallah is listed ahead of last year's starter, Doug Worthington. What isn't known is whether that is in response to things that happened on the practice field or if it is in response to Worthington's off-field problems this summer involving drinking and driving.

While the depth chart doesn't reflect the possibility of Rose and Heyward spending time inside, it is definitely a part of the plan for the Buckeyes.

"Rob Rose is 300 pounds and can run like a deer," said Lawrence Wilson.

"That's always a good thing to have on your defensive line. He plays tackle, he plays end, he can play anywhere on the defensive line and he's going to make plays because he's so big and so physical and so strong. He's definitely going to be a force for us."

Linebackers: Ross Homan has won the starting position at weak side linebacker, and while that is not a surprise in itself, we think that Homan must have really had a strong spring and fall. That's a spot where Curtis Terry could have fit in and Homan obviously made it easy for the coaching staff to move Terry to another position.

"Ross has become a lot more confident in what he's doing," said linebacker coach Luke Fickell.

"That's probably the biggest thing with Ross. The confidence he gets the more understanding that he gets, the natural ability to fly to the football and flow to the football and do the things a linebacker does. His always was just an issue to get enough plays to get enough confidence."

Getting Homan on the field also required that Marcus Freeman move over to strong side linebacker after playing the weak side last year.

"When you have a guy as talented as Ross you have to get him on the field," said Freeman.

"The more I'm playing Sam the more comfortable I'm getting and the better I'm getting at the position," Freeman said.

Freeman is not exactly a newcomer to the Sam position.

"I played Sam when I first got here, for the first two years," he explained.

"It's position that's not too much different than the Will but it is. You play a lot more in space and at times you have to go from being a d-lineman to being a safety to a linebacker. It's a different position but I'm used to it, I've done it before. I think I'm getting more comfortable and I'm better at it now."

The backups at outside linebacker are very interesting. Both Tyler Moeller and Brian Rolle are a bit undersized as OSU linebackers go, but both bring great speed and intensity to the position. Moeller is actually being used as a nickel back in passing packages, but the OSU coaching staff like both him and Rolle at the OLB positions, enough so to keep talented (and bigger) freshmen Andrew Sweat and Etienne Sabino out of the two-deep for now. OSU linebackers coach Luke Fickell commented on Rolle.

"Structure-wise he's learning a lot. He needs to understand that there's a lot more structure and a lot more fit and a lot more to it than just running around and being crazy and out of control. He's come a long way. Discipline on those little things is something that you can definitely see is getting better in his second year," Fickell said.

Safeties: One of the biggest stories at safety is whose name isn't on the two-deep. Jamario O'Neal will miss the first two games for disciplinary reasons. The backups at safety are junior Aaron Gant and sophomore Jermale Hines. Hines is an interesting player. He was outstanding on special teams last year as a true freshman and spent time at linebacker, but now is practicing at safety. At 6-2, 210, he brings size and physicality.

Corners: Like safety, the corner position is missing a name. Donald Washington will miss the first two games due to disciplinary issues. In his absence, Chimdi Chekwa is now the starter at corner after seeing ample playing time last year in OSU's nickel package. Fifth-year senior Shaun Lane is listed as Chekwa's backup.

On the other side of the field. Andre Amos and DeVon Torrence are backing up Malcolm Jenkins. Torrence is new to corner after having played wide receiver last year, but defensive backs coach Paul Haynes really likes what he sees in Torrence.

"He can go out there athletically and just cover somebody. He can bring that to the table with great ball skills being a baseball player. He brings a lot. He's a very, very good athlete," Haynes said.

Amos on the other hand brings both athleticism and experience to the table but was set back some with an injury last year.

"Andre Amos was there for us last year and had the knee injury and came back toward the end of the year," said cornerback coach Taver Johnson.

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