Ohio State’s safety room is in an interesting spot right now. The starters are high level and proven, but behind them, the depth still feels like a real question mark.
Caleb Downs leaving for the NFL took away the program’s ultimate eraser on the back end, but Ohio State’s portal response at the top was strong.
Jaylen McClain is back after a very good 2025 and now gets the runway to become one of the faces of the defense, and Duke transfer Terry Moore arrives with the type of resume you usually only
find in veteran starters. Moore was an All-ACC level safety in 2024 before missing last season, and the bet here is that Ohio State is buying a high end bounce back, not just a name.
On top of that, the plan to use Florida State transfer Earl Little Jr. at nickel gives the defense another veteran piece who can play starter level snaps even if he is technically not one of the two safeties.
The concern starts the moment you move to the third safety.
Leroy Roker is the obvious next man up, and that matters because it shows the staff has already trusted him enough to play real snaps. He appeared in multiple games in 2025, including against Miami in the CFP, and finished the season with eight total tackles and a pass breakup.
That is not a huge stat line, but it is a meaningful breadcrumb, because it confirms he was not just a bench body. The issue is that being trusted to play a handful of snaps and being ready to play 30 to 40 snaps in a high leverage game are completely different tests, especially at safety where one hesitation can become a touchdown.
After Roker, it becomes projection. Deshawn Stewart is in the pipeline, and there are talented freshmen like Blaine Bradford and Simeon Caldwell who could legitimately push their way into the two deep if they hit the ground running.
But counting on freshmen at safety is always risky because even if the physical ability is there right away, the processing, communication, and assignment discipline usually take time.
That is why the Faheem Delane portal loss feels so significant in this room. It is not only losing a player, it is losing a potential safety net, the kind of athlete who might have been the difference between feeling great about the depth and a depth chart that turns into guesswork if injuries hit.
The cleanest way to frame it is this: Ohio State has enough at the top of the safety room to field a championship level defense, but it also has just enough uncertainty behind the starters to make the room feel fragile.
If the Buckeyes stay healthy and one young player develops into a trusted option by midseason, this won’t matter and the room will look like a strength again. If that development does not happen, then one injury could force Ohio State into playing inexperienced players at one of the most punishing positions on the field.
