Kenyatta Jackson ‘looks like an NFL player’ after impressive offseason
INDIANAPOLIS — Eight Ohio State defensive linemen recorded at least 200 defensive snaps last season, according to Pro Football Focus. The season before that? Nine.
Longtime Buckeyes D-Line coach Larry Johnson likes his rotation to run deep.
That might change this year, though.
Head coach Ryan Day hinted at Big Ten Media Days that a larger proportion of defensive snaps will go to the best of the best on the defensive front.
It appears as if second-year defensive end Kenyatta Jackson will be part of that top tier.
“We’re looking for physicality in preseason,” Day said. “We need guys who are playing downhill or playing fast. We gotta win the line of scrimmage. The defensive line’s gotta play physical. In order to do that, I think J.T. [Tuimoloau], Jack [Sawyer], Mike [Hall], Tyleik [Williams], Ty [Hamilton], Kenyatta [Jackson] — they gotta take on the majority of the reps.”
Day continued: “We’ve rotated guys in the past on the D-Line, but these guys have gotta be guys who we can count on to play the majority of games and, like we say, carry the water. They’re the ones that gotta do it up front. It all starts with the guys up there.”
Tuimoloau mentioned Jackson Wednesday in Lucas Oil Stadium as one of the Buckeyes’ younger defensive lineman who could break out in 2023.
Jackson’s potential was on display in March and April. After tacking on 17 pounds from the start of last season, according to the Buckeyes’ updated roster, Jackson wowed in the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
The 6-foot-5, 252-pound defensive end didn’t just look bigger, either. The physique upgrade came with a speed boost off the edge, too.
It was noticeable from the first scrimmage of spring season when Jackson — or “K.J.” as his teammates call him — got home for back-to-back “sacks” on redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Brown during the team third down period.
Jackson made life hard for Zen Michalski and Tegra Tshabola, who alternated first-team right tackle reps this spring. The Chaminade-Madonna Prep product would have had another sack in the live scrimmage portion of the day, except he was held by tight end Gee Scott Jr.
That wasn’t just a flash in the pan. Jackson was part of a dominant Ohio State defensive line performance this spring, and he carried that momentum into the summer, according to Day.
“He looks great,” Day said of the former Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. “We need Kenyatta to play for us this year and have production. But, yeah, he looks like an NFL player right now.”
Jackson showed out at Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Florida, where he piled up 65 tackles, 15 sacks, 17 tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hurries as a senior. That year, the eventual Under Armour All-American helped his school take home the 3A state championship.
“He was a real good player in high school,” Johnson said in late May. “But I think what he brought to the table coming in — he was really serious, he was committed to get better, and he just competed.
“I liked the way he competed. When you compete every day and play hard every day, you got a chance to get better, and I think he did some really good things.”
Jackson joined the Buckeyes last June before redshirting the 2022 season. He did, however, play a combined 24 defensive snaps in games against Arkansas State, Toledo and Rutgers, per PFF.
In that brief window, he snagged his first TFL against Toledo.
“He’s a young kid, so he’s gotta get stronger, he’s gotta get bigger,” Johnson said. “He’s got great skill sets in the pass rush, he can play the run. He’s just developing, and now he’s gotta play.
“That’s the key to the whole game.”
It looks and sounds like Jackson’s going to play. How much will be dictated by his performance.
The post Kenyatta Jackson ‘looks like an NFL player’ after impressive offseason appeared first on On3.
