Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end,
it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
Today’s Question: What Buckeye do you want to see get more playing time?
Jami’s Take: Riley Pettijohn
Saturday’s game against Grambling State gave Buckeye fans the rare opportunity to get a glimpse of several reserve players, including quite a few fresh faces who came in on clean-up duty and impressed in the process.
One of the biggest standouts for me was Riley Pettijohn, the fourth man up at linebacker. Despite playing only 15 snaps, the true freshman was undoubtedly an impact player for the Buckeyes.
A four-star prospect, Pettijohn came to Columbus as one of the nation’s top-rated linebackers. In his senior year, he logged 115 tackles, twelve tackles-for-loss, and 5.5 sacks, and was named a finalist for the Dick Butkus Award given annually to the top high school linebacker in the country. Suffice it to say, expectations for what this kid can do are high.
He certainly lived up to, if not exceeded, them Saturday. Though we should take that game with a grain of salt as Grambling State was heavily outmatched, Pettijohn’s stats were impressive: He recorded two tackles, a third-down pass breakup, a forced fumbl,e and a second fumble returned for a touchdown. Not bad for just 15 snaps, huh?
Despite his spectacular numbers, it’s unlikely we’ll see a ton of Pettijohn this season: The Buckeyes play with two linebackers, and with Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles in those starting roles, there’s no need for a shakeup. Behind those two, sophomore Payton Pierce takes up the third spot. Pierce, for his part, played the most snaps on Saturday (25) and led the team in tackles with six. Again, no reason to shake up the order.
And to be clear, I’m not suggesting I want to see him replace one of the three guys before him. Take “I want to see more of him” at face value—he looked excellent on Saturday. I had fun watching him, and I’m excited about what that means for his future with his team. I would like to see him get some snaps in next week’s game against Ohio, and potentially even in some Big Ten games.
More realistically, I’m going to have to wait another year or two to see Pettijohn dominate on the field—but just because we likely won’t see a ton of him this season doesn’t mean I don’t want to, and it certainly doesn’t mean I’m not excited about what he can do.
In the short term, Pettijohn gives the Buckeyes additional depth, something that could be critical in case of an injury. In the 12-team playoff era, the longer season makes injuries more likely. When I say I want to see more of Pettijohn, I’m certainly not hoping for an injury, but I do take comfort knowing someone with his talent is waiting in the wings if we need him.
In the longer term, Pettijohn gives us a glimpse of the future of this defense, and if there’s this much talent ready to be unleashed, that future looks pretty bright.
Matt’s Take: Bo Jackson
Like Jami, I thought that Riley Pettijohn looked tremendous in his 15 snaps against Grambling State, and his performance got me exceedingly excited about what the future holds for the linebacker. However, in a defensive scheme that almost exclusively plays two linebackers at a time, being behind three older, more experienced guys on the depth chart makes it difficult for me to see a path to much more playing time for him.
However, if you flip over to the other side of the field, I see a huge opportunity for fellow true-freshman Bo Jackson to not only work his way up the depth chart, but to sooner or later this season, be at the top of the depth chart.
Against Texas, there was no doubt that the weakest aspect of Ohio State’s game was the running backs. Starting running back C.J. Donaldson averaged 3.5 yards on 19 carries (with a touchdown) while backup James Peoples went for 20 yards on 10 runs. Despite the 14-7 win over the then-No. 1 team in the country, that wasn’t incredibly encouraging.
While the rushing performance for both Donaldson and Peoples was better against the severely overmatched Grambling State (Donaldson: 5 carries, 45 yards, 1 TD; Peoples: 8 carries, 59 yards), it was Jackson who shown. The freshman got the first nine carries of his collegiate career and turned them into 108 yards and a touchdown.
Now, simply running the ball is not the only thing that running backs need to be proficient in to be a well-rounded back, which is a prerequisite to getting on the field for Ohio State. One area that Jackson needs to improve before moving up the RB pecking order is in his pass blocking.
According to Pro Football Focus, the freshman graded out at just a 20.9 on the game, the second-worst grade on the team (ahead of only Peoples). Conversely, the veteran Donaldson led the team at 81.6, which is likely not an insignificant reason why he got the start against the Longhorns in the season opener.
If Jackson has proven anything, it is that he has the home run play-making ability that some of the great recent backs in OSU history have, including TreVeyon Henderson, J.K. Dobbins, and Curtis Samuel. However, to be a part of a Ryan Day and Carlos Locklyn running back rotation, you have to be able to pass protect, and he’s clearly just not there yet.
Fortunately, the Buckeyes are only two games into the season, with a matchup against Ohio coming up this weekend, followed by an off week. While I don’t anticipate Jackson suddenly becoming RB1 by the time OSU comes off its bye and heads to Seattle to take on Washington, it is promising that there is time for him to develop before the Buckeyes play Illinois, Penn State, Michigan, and any potential playoff opponent.
Given how game-ready he is carrying the ball, I have no doubt that Jackson will improve in pass-pro as the season goes on, meaning that, unless something dramatically changes, I see him being the Buckeyes’ primary back come the postseason.
