Ohio State is replacing eight starters on defense for the second year in a row.
It can be safely assumed that Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Jaylen McClain will reprise their starting roles from last season. Devin Sanchez and Payton Pierce are poised to step into starting roles after playing regularly off the bench last year, while Ohio State could have as many as a half-dozen transfers playing major roles on its 2026 defense. But there are still plenty of questions about how the depth chart will shake out.
In Part 2 of Eleven Warriors’ initial depth chart projection for 2026, I’ve put together a three-deep look at how I forecast the depth chart stacking up at every defensive position when the season starts in September.