Future Ohio State Defense

Thought I’d bring our discussion over here regarding future defenses.

We were discussing the 3-4 as opposed to the 4-3 with a LEO, which resembles a 3-4.

I love a 3-4! If you think of the best defenses in all of football, I bet 2/3 of them run a 3-4. So it got me to thinking about what our team would look like in a couple years if we ran a true 3-4 defense. Just imagine a front seven that looks like this in two or three years...

DE - Adolphus Washington / Sevon Pittman
NT - Tommy Schutt / Michael Hill
DE - Joey Bosa / Tracy Sprinkle
OLB - Noah Spence / Josh Perry
ILB - Camren Williams / Raekwon McMillan
ILB - David Perkins / Mike Mitchall
OLB - Jamal Marcus / Tyquan Lewis

A front 7 like that would be almost unstoppable. Here's to hoping we lock the other few up. Either way things are looking very bright.

That would be siiiiiick!



Tracy Sprinkle would be dominate across from Bosa at DE...


Sprinkle will be a star at OSU...

i like the look! i think we still need a little more depth to run the 3-4 in some positions.

Originally Posted by louts8wings

i like the look! i think we still need a little more depth to run the 3-4 in some positions.

Give Meyer the rest of this year and next year's recruiting classes and I think that this could become a reality...

Some of the best NFL defense run the 3-4 and with Meyer's ability to bring in NFL level talent... I get chills just thinking about it lol.

Don't forget that Vrabel played basically his whole NFL career in a 3-4 so I think he'd have some major insight on that.

Originally Posted by PsykoSockPuppet

Don't forget that Vrabel played basically his whole NFL career in a 3-4 so I think he'd have some major insight on that.

That's an excellent point. I also like the idea of bringing in someone like Keith Butler. He is the Steelers LB coach and has been learning under Dick LeBeau for about 10 years. Maybe Fick will get a HC job and we make that move. ;)

Where is the info that we are going to be playing in a 3-4 defense? I haven't seen much of the Buckeyes four games due to having to work and stuff, but if Noah Spence has been playing DE, then I doubt Meyer has any plans to go to a 3-4 defense.

I don't remember him playing any 3-4 at Florida, the defense was strictly a 4-3 defense.

And as for getting Keith Butler from the Steelers, I highly doubt that happens. He's being groomed to replace Dick LeBeau as the DC of the Steelers. I don't see him leaving Pittsburgh for anything other than a head coaching position in the NFL...which could happen this season with former minority Steelers owner Jimmy Haslem III taking over the Browns in October...if Shurmer gets fired he could try to bring in Butler as the HC.

However, if the Buckeyes to go to a 3-4, that looks like an unstoppable front seven.

I never said that they were going to a 3-4. We were discussing the idea.

As for Noah Spence, he is a future 3-4 OLB in the NFL. We could use him in that capacity now. I also said, “Someone LIKE Keith Butler.” Just someone that has been groomed to run the 3-4.

As much as I’d love to go to a 3-4, I think if we were able to bring in Randy Shannon, I’d like to stay a 4-3. Shannon is currently the LB’s coach at TCU and would definitely leave for a DC job at Ohio State.

Having him would do a couple of things. First, he’s a great DC. His defenses at Miami were legendary. I think I saw that 6 out of the 7 years he was there, they were ranked in the top 7 in the country in total defense.

Secondly, he could recruit Dade County like nobody’s business. With Meyer’s presence in Florida and Shannon’s presence in Miami, that would be scary!

Just looked it up and here it is...

During Shannon's six years as UM's defensive coordinator, his defenses ranked as follows in total defense nationally:
2001 – 6th
2002 – 7th
2003 – 2nd
2004 – 28th
2005 – 4th
2006 – 7th