By Bill Smith
In a recent
interview, Jim Heacock, the OSU defensive coordinator said
“We need to get better everyday. We need to be more dominate as a defense and
need to get tougher up front. We have to get a better up front and improve our
turnover margin.” When he was asked
about replacing Gholston, he said “We have two different looks. One is with
Lawrence (Wilson)
at one end and Cameron (Heyward) at the other end and we are also working in
Thaddeus Gibson in there. I really wanted him to get some reps in that spot.”
Coach
Heacock has a lot to be excited about along the D line going into the 2008
season. Heyward showed he wants to be
the next OSU All-American DE by playing extensively in his first season for the
Buckeyes. Last year he showed well above
average pass rush and has a nasty streak to hold up well against the run. The
only thing he lacks is more experience.
Reports
from spring workouts indicate that both Wilson and Gibson are doing well. Both
have excellent athleticism. Coach Heacock was particularly impressed with
Gibson's work ethic. “He has had a great
off-season and he is going to be one of the guys that see a lot of action this
season for us. He has been great in the weight room and so far has been solid.”
Wilson, a senior
defensive end, is working hard to come back from injury. When asked about his progress, he said “At
first I was sad about it, but I haven’t been down on it. I knew I had to think
of the team and keep encouraging my teammates to go out there and win. Right
now, I’m almost 100 percent healthy. I feel really good and I know I need to
keep pushing myself to get better.” Wilson
also indicated he felt the loss of his friend Gholston. He said “He (Gholston) will be greatly
missed. He was the best defensive lineman last year and him leaving can be a
big toll on the team. However, we know we have to work even harder to fill that
void.” That is exactly the kind of
attitude Coach Heacock wants to hear.
Coach
Heacock has more reasons to be excited about the 2008 defense like Doug
Worthington, another senior defensive lineman that has proven his ability to
contribute. Worthington
said “We want to keep getting better on both sides of the ball. We have an
urgency to improve and everyone is stepping up and becoming a big roll on the
team. It is easy to see how hungry the young guys are and how much they want to
want to improve. Everyday we are getting ready for next year. We are hungry and
want to play our game. It is hard to lose someone like Vernon Gholston, but
each guy has really stepped up."
Todd
Denlinger, another senior defensive lineman being depended on to contribute
this year, echoed Worthington's
assessment. “We just need to work at
getting more pressure as a team. It all starts with us on the defensive line.
Last year the (defensive) tackles only had about four or five sacks we need to
triple that this year. We need to
collapse the pocket. So often (last year) we were just trying to get up field.
Now we know that we need to get inside and work as a four man unit in order to
break down the protection.”
But
with all the talk about the defense, don't worry too much about the OSU offense
this year. No one gets a better feel for
how well the offense is doing that those on defense who practice against it all
season long. Nader Abdallah, senior
defensive lineman, commented “I think that everyone on the offense has looked
really sharp. Chris Wells had looked really good coming back from injury and
Brandon Saine has looked very explosive.
All of the guys have seen action now and it is more about just expanding
our overall knowledge of the game and just gaining a better overall grasp of
the game. We just need to get better every day.”
With
coaches like Jim Heacock teaching techniques, you can bet that both sides of
the line will work hard to get better every practice.