Ryan Day all but spilled the beans on an Ohio State football player that’s going to become a bigger part of what the Buckeyes do
The Buckeyes are going to be making changes after losing to Texas, and one of them looks to be getting a freshman defender more snaps.
Tough losses can become tough lessons, and Ohio State is hoping it can come away from the defeat against Texas, learn from it, and be better off because of it.
The Buckeyes allowed 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to lose 24-23 to the Longhorns in a game where Ohio State outplayed Texas for the majority of the contest. Still, it wasn’t enough because of the inability to put points on the board in the fourth quarter.
Coming away from the game, there are changes the Buckeyes have to make, and one spot where we could see a shift is along the defensive line.
Ohio State needs more from its edge group, and a freshman could step in
Ohio State needs the best four defensive linemen out there who can collapse the pocket and generate pressure on the quarterback, no matter who the four is. The Buckeyes know Kenyatta Jackson will be one of those guys, but past him, there are a whole lot of question marks in the edge group.
One player clearly in line for more playing time is true freshman Khary Wilder.
Wilder played just five snaps against Texas but registered a couple of pressures and continues to look the part in limited opportunity to begin the season. Ohio State clearly values his ability to get to the quarterback, which is why they’re using the 6-foot-4, 257-pound defensive end as an interior defensive lineman on third-down packages at times to get after the passer.
Ryan Day’s latest comment points to Wilder getting an expanded role soon with the Buckeyes.
“Looking into it, the way that we kind of looked at it was we had this game here, week two,” Day said of facing Texas. “We do everything we can to win that game, and then we’re going to kind of move on from there,” Day stated. “And so I think that you know, Khary is a guy that we got to try to figure out ways to get him into the game. But I think, just in general, for some of those young players, whether it’s on offense or defense, like they have to build enough trust.”
You look at a guy like Jay Timmons, like from the jump, he’s building up trust to say, put him in the game and look, look what he did. These other guys, they’re going to have that opportunity here. There’s no place that’s more competitive than we are, and these guys are going to have a chance to compete every day and have an opportunity to get on the field.”
Wilder was a four-star recruit out of California and a player Buckeyes defensive line coach Larry Johnson targeted as a defensive end he wanted in the class of 2026 recruiting cycle. The talent was evident from the start, and the early returns in Columbus have backed that up.
Saturday’s matchup against Kent State could serve as the perfect opportunity to give Wilder a significant boost in snaps ahead of Big Ten play and the rest of the season. A lighter opponent allows the coaching staff to build that trust Day referenced without the same level of risk that comes with a top-tier matchup. It’s really that simple.
No. 34 is a player Buckeye Nation needs to become accustomed with. Wilder is pushing his way onto the field, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s a regular part of Ohio State’s defensive line rotation.
