Linebacker Ross Homan is expected to return today after missing the previous two games with a foot injury, and that's a good thing for Ohio State.
View full sizeOhio State linebacker Ross Homan.1. The return of Ross Homan
Ohio State linebacker Brian Rolle leads Ohio State with 47 tackles in nine games, which has him tied for 39th in the Big Ten. That's right, 38 others have more tackles than any Buckeye.
"We don't have any stars," Rolle said. "I feel like we just have guys doing the job. Guys were looking at the stats [this week] and none of our guys are at the top. We have guys pretty much even on the team. That means you have guys competing. If you've got a guy with 170 tackles and the next guy with 25, that let's you know how good the competition is there. I just feel like we have guys doing their job and not focusing on am I No. 1, am I No. 2?"
One of the reasons the Buckeyes don't have a tackler any higher is because the old No. 1 has been out for a while. Senior weakside linebacker Ross Homan was Ohio State's leading tackler before his foot was stepped on at Wisconsin, causing him to miss the past two games. Despite the absence, he's still second on the team with 41 stops. The linebackers weren't having a good night in Madison before Homan went out, and Andrew Sweat played well in his place on the weakside against Purdue and Minnesota.
But Homan's return is a big one. He's a guy who some thought might be the second-best linebacker in the Big Ten this season, behind Michigan State's Greg Jones, and if he can play near that level in November, it will make a difference for this defense.
"I always kid him about having him back," defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said. "I don't feel safe without him. But having him back is definitely a key thing. He's a ballhawk."
The coaches this week said Homan responded well to back-to-back practices. But watch to see how freely he runs and how often he's around the ball. The Buckeyes this season won't have anyone reach 100 tackles for the first time since Mike Doss led Ohio State with 87 tackles in 2001. Since then linebackers Matt Wilhelm, A.J. Hawk and James Laurinaitis made sure the Buckeyes always had a 100-tackle guy. Even Homan led the way with 106 tackles last season.
He's not going to reach those numbers. But he can play to that level.