Matt Patricia’s Next Wave: Ohio State’s Young Defense Is Growing Up Fast
By Carter Quinn
Last Updated on November 3, 2026
Every college defense eventually loses its stars. Ohio State had to replace three of them in one spring, all first-round picks, and the early returns in Columbus say Matt Patricia’s next group is growing up faster than almost anyone expected.
Where the 2025 core landed
The NFL took notice of last year’s defense in April. Three top-11 picks came off one unit. Linebacker Arvell Reese was taken fifth overall by the New York Giants. Sonny Styles was picked seventh by the Washington Commanders, and safety Caleb Downs went 11th to the Dallas Cowboys. All three landed in the NFC East.
When the Commanders and Giants played to a 27-27 overtime tie in Week 5, two former Buckeye linebackers lined up on opposite sidelines, and Styles led Washington with 13 tackles. By mid-October, both were in the early Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation.
Former teammates lining up against each other on Sundays is a good problem for a program to have. It also raised a fair question in Columbus: who plays like that now?
A different kind of Matt Patricia defense
This year’s group doesn’t have that kind of star power yet. It hasn’t needed it. Through seven games, it still gives up just 13.4 points a game, and the production is coming from a wider set of players. Iowa ran for 39 yards against it on Oct. 3, and Indiana ran for 73 on Oct. 17.
Jaylen McClain, who spent last season in Downs’ shadow, is now one of the defense’s playmakers. His blitz and strip-sack on fourth-and-4 at Indiana was one of the defense’s biggest plays of the season.
Earl Little Jr. has become the steady presence in the secondary. He led the team with eight tackles in Bloomington.
Jay Timmons, a true freshman, has started making the kind of plays usually expected from veterans. He forced a fumble, broke up two passes and had seven tackles at Indiana, and 247Sports named him its True Freshman of the Week. Riley Pettijohn, a young linebacker, supplied the pressure on Indiana’s final snap.
Up front, Eddrick Houston is having his best stretch as a Buckeye, and Alabama transfer Qua Russaw has added pass rush after starting the season working back from an injury. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. ties it together as a captain and the voice of the front.
At Indiana, linebacker Payton Pierce had seven tackles, and cornerback Devin Sanchez and defensive lineman Jason Moore had six each.
Growing up on schedule
The defense didn’t arrive fully formed. It was beaten by a point at Texas, and Illinois piled up 462 yards against it a few weeks later.
“After the Texas game, obviously, we knew we weren’t playing our best football,” McClain said after the Indiana win. “But over the last few weeks, we’ve started coming together as a unit.”
Since Illinois, Iowa managed 1.9 yards per carry and Indiana 2.5. Young players took the hits early, learned from them and kept improving. A defense that gets better in October usually means the teaching is landing, and that points back to Matt Patricia and the defensive staff.
The link between the two groups
Reese, Styles and Downs set a high bar in Columbus. They also showed the current players what consistent work produces. The new group is building its own version, with more contributors and fewer household names.
The old core is proving itself on Sundays. Seven games into the college season, the new one is doing the same on Saturdays, a little ahead of schedule. That’s a good sign for November.
