Every day from now until the start of the season, Land-Grant Holy Land is highlighting Ohio State football players that you should be watching this season. Check out all of our ”Player to Watch” articles to get ready for the season opener against Texas.
There is no doubt who the leader of the Ohio State defensive line is this season.
Kenyatta Jackson Jr. was part of Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class and is entering his fifth season as a Buckeye. Following the departure of defensive ends Jack Sawyer
and J.T. Tuimoloau following the 2024 season, Jackson saw his role expand last season, starting all 14 of Ohio State’s games in 2025.
Unfortunately for Jackson his first season as a true starter got off to a bit of a slow start, as he dealt with an injury early on in the season. While he wasn’t at 100 percent, Jackson didn’t let the injury keep him off the field. Over the first three games Jackson participated in nearly 100 plays, registering five tackles.
Luckily for Jackson, one of Ohio State’s two bye weeks during the season came in the middle of September.
With a week off to rest and recover, there was a decided difference with Jackson’s play once the Buckeyes dove into their Big Ten schedule. Jackson’s first sack of the season came in the win at Washington. Over the next three games, Jackson added another sack and a half and a pass deflection.
The best game of Jackson’s career so far came against Penn State when he registered a career-high two sacks, four tackles, and another pass deflection.
Following his great game against Penn State, Jackson had eight tackles over the next three games as the Buckeyes overwhelmed Purdue, UCLA, and Rutgers. Then in a couple of Ohio State’s biggest games of the season, Jackson continued to show up when it mattered most, notching a sack against both Michigan and Indiana.
When the season came to a close, Jackson was second on the team with 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, earning Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors.
With the number of starters on defense who left Ohio State following the 2025 season, it would have been understandable if Jackson joined fellow defensive linemen Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald in the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead, Jackson decided it was in his best interests to come back for one more season in the scarlet and gray.
Along with getting the chance to start his final season of college football on a healthy note, he knew another year at the college level would allow him the chance to improve his draft stock.
At 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds, Jackson has a great mix of speed and length, which will make him an attractive prospect at the next level. Instead of being a mid-round draft pick had he declared for the draft following last season, coming back to college and getting more tape on the books for scouts to look at could elevate him into a player who is drafted in the first three rounds of the 2027 NFL Draft.
There’s no doubt Jackson is athletically gifted. During his high school career in Miami Gardens, Jackson was a four-star recruit and was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Florida after recording 65 tackles and 15 sacks as a senior. The reason it took Jackson so long to get onto the field at Ohio State was because of a logjam at defensive end, as he had to wait his turn behind guys like Sawyer and Tuimoloau.
Expectations for Jackson are high heading into this season. Along with being placed on watchlists for the Nagurski and Lott IMPACT awards, it is likely he will be named a team captain because of the amount of time he has been with the Ohio State program.
If the Buckeyes are going to win their second national championship in three years, they’ll need Jackson to not only play big on the field, but to push his teammates on defense.
The only question that remains is will Jackson be playing with some extra pep in his step this year since he was able to switch his uniform number. After wearing number 97 over his first four seasons at Ohio State, Jackson was finally able to claim the number 2, which was worn by safety Caleb Downs over the last two seasons.
For some players when they get a new number it helps them tune in more mentally. If that’s the case then the opposing quarterbacks on Ohio State’s schedule this season are in big trouble.
