Larry Johnson, Ohio State’s defensive line coach who Ryan Day once called “legendary,” has a go-to phrase. Something he says all the time. Something he definitely wishes he didn’t have to use on Saturday.
“It's just a next-man-up mentality,” Zach Harrison said after Ohio State’s 73-14 slaughter of Maryland. “That's what coach J preaches.”
Tyreke Smith, too, recalled a variation of his position coach’s words.
“I feel like when one goes down, coach J always says one comes up,” Smith said.
Next man up, in this case, meant Johnson turned Smith and Harrison off the edge as the starting defensive ends, and they produced as anybody would hope for from a pair of players once ranked as top-35 overall recruits.