COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State made a change to its defensive starting lineup the last time it played, and perhaps that choice came with a challenge.
Tywone Malone, starting at defensive tackle alongside Kayden McDonald against Ohio instead of Eddrick Houston raised a few eyebrows, especially since Houston didn’t take the field until the second quarter.
All offseason, Houston and McDonald were viewed as the sure things in the interior, and the challenge was to the guys behind them. Malone and Will Smith Jr. seemed to have met that challenge through three games, and no longer is anybody worried about what happens when one of the top two comes off the field.
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But three games in, we’re still waiting on Houston to go from an idea to a reality. So what’s not clicking?
“We’re looking for consistency in everybody,” Day said. “It’s everybody’s job each day in the Woody to build trust, and every day’s an opportunity to build trust, and we need consistency. We’ve talked about this before. A guy can flash, which means he has the ability to do it. But can he consistently do it? That’s part of maturing as a player, and it’s the coach’s job to make sure that we’re communicating what needs to get done and the expectations.
Houston is young and has still technically only been a defensive tackle for less than a full calendar year. It’s way too early to start overreacting and thinking that maybe the five-star recruit isn’t what we thought he had the potential to be. But his first three games have been a reminder that his development is still in progress.
He’s been fine at best, recording four tackles in 67 snaps. He’s yet to have his ‘I’ve arrived’ moment in Year 2, while having a few mental lapses against Grambling with multiple encroachment penalties.
Maybe those penalties are why he didn’t start against Ohio, and things get back to normal this weekend against Washington. Right now, there’s no reason not to think that.
It’s too early to be worried about Houston. But it’s not too early to start building optimism in the one group that left the spring with the most pessimism.
Malone has turned 45 snaps into three tackles and two pressures. Smith has turned 56 snaps into five tackles and one pressure. McDonald has been the perfect replacement for Ty Hamilton, turning 74 snaps into 14 tackles, two tackles or loss, a sack, a forced fumble, and three pressures.
If the worst thing about the defensive tackle unit through three games is that we’re still waiting on the second-year five-star who only moved to the spot last November and spent the first part of fall camp nursing a knee injury to finally turn flashes into consistency, that’s a good place to be. As long as that light eventually turns on for good.
Saturday against a Washington team featuring a quality rushing attack spearheaded by running back Jonah Coleman seems like a good place for that to start happening.
The room around Houston is starting to flourish. Now it’s just waiting for the guy with the highest upside to join the party.
“We are looking for depth at every position, and we need as many guys that can play as possible,” Day said. “He’s just like everybody else on the team, searching for ways to be consistent in everything that they do. But the ability is obviously there.”