By The Plain Dealeron September 14, 2012 at 9:19 PM, updated September 14, 2012 at 10:16 PM
Freshman Noah Spence (8) got to the quarterback in his first game as a Buckeye, and coach Urban Meyer is counting on him to do the same thing Saturday against Cal.
COLUMBUS, Ohio â€" Five-star defensive end Noah Spence, ranked as the nation's No. 9 player in the Class of 2012 by Rivals.com â€" did you expect immediately to play a lot for the Ohio State Buckeyes?
"No, not at all," Spence said.
Five-star recruit Adolphus Washington, ranked as the No. 25 player in the Class of 2012 by Rivals â€" you've moved from defensive end to defensive tackle, and did you think you'd play this much through two games?
"I'm playing a lot more than I thought," Washington said. "It's fun. I did a position change, but I enjoy playing football."
Throw in defensive tackle Tommy Schutt, ranked as the No. 64 player in the 2012 class, and the three highest-rated recruits in Urban Meyer's first class are all playing vital roles on Ohio State's defensive line. They should continue to see action against Cal at Ohio Stadium today.
The defensive line also includes veteran All-Big Ten candidates John Simon and Johnathan Hankins, both of whom received champion grades against Central Florida last week. Pretty good.
Meyer also thought that the defensive line as a whole didn't get enough pressure on the quarterback and just played OK. Not good enough.
Add those two truths together, and what do you get?
The young defensive linemen are filled with potential, but with as much as the Buckeyes have relied on them with the injuries they've faced, Ohio State needs even more.
"We haven't had great players beat their guy enough," Meyer said. "I think we played OK, but we expect more than OK."
For now, the freshmen are just making sure they're doing the right thing.
"I'm not that comfortable yet," said Spence, who has the added responsibility of sometimes dropping into coverage from his Leo defensive end spot. "I've got to keep on trying, I've got to learn my drops and everything like that. I'm not as comfortable as I think I can get, being as young as I am."
Hankins, a junior who played some as a true freshman, thinks Game 3 could be the moment when it comes together for the new guys.
"[The key] is just not being scared when you're out there, not being nervous," Hankins said. "Just doing your job and not being worried you're going to mess up.
"I feel like it takes one or two games for it to sink in, but I feel like this third game, they'll be real comfortable with the defense. They're kind of like us now. They know what they've got to do, and it's go out and perform."
Meyer is tired of waiting. He has talked a lot about getting more pressure on the quarterback since the moments after last week's win over UCF. Hankins said every time he sees Meyer in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, even just walking down the hall, Meyer mentions getting pressure to him.
"I take it as a challenge," Hankins said.
So must the freshmen.
"The older guys help us a lot, and with two games under our belts, we're acclimated to the whole speed of the game," Schutt said. "We can let loose now."
After he was initially disappointed about his move inside, Washington has found that his athleticism can give him an edge against centers and guards.
"I just use my quickness against them and I love that," Washington said. "Everyone on the offensive and defensive line knows my pass rushing is the best thing that I do."
The same goes for Spence, and both those freshmen had sacks in their debuts against Miami two weeks ago. That was a bonus in a blowout. But the freshmen no longer are seen as that.
Defensive end Nathan Williams should be back today after missing last week with soreness in his knee. But projected starter Michael Bennett will remain out for several more weeks with a groin injury. Ready or not, the freshmen will be called on. And while Hankins has advised them to play just like it's high school, this clearly isn't high school anymore.
"[The quarterbacks] don't hold on to it, they throw it away. And they're harder to tackle, too. They're bigger guys than in high school, but that was expected," Spence said.
"I don't think we're living up to what we can do yet, but as the weeks go on, we'll get better and better. It should be all right."
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