Kenyatta Jackson Jr. has waited a long time for a shot like this, and Ohio State’s season opener against Ball State gives him the stage to show what he can do. After years of building behind some of the best defensive ends in the country, the former five-star steps into 2026 as a veteran presence on a defensive front that needs new stars to rise.
Jackson is the clearest candidate to make the biggest first impression on Saturday. He already flashed plenty of promise in 2025, when he put up 28 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks while becoming a trusted part of Ohio State’s rotation against Big Ten competition. Now the role is bigger, the spotlight is brighter and the Buckeyes need him to look like more than a dependable rotation piece.
With Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald gone, Jackson is one of the experienced voices on a front that has to sort out its next wave of playmakers. Ball State offers the kind of opener where he can go on the attack, see a heavy snap count and start setting the tone before Ohio State gets into the tougher stretch of the schedule.
If Jackson is winning off the edge, creating pressure and showing the improved strength and technique that have been part of his growth, a multi-sack game is well within reach. That’s the kind of performance that would move him from intriguing talent to the kind of defensive lineman offenses have to plan around, especially with Texas, Indiana, USC, Oregon and Michigan on the horizon.
Still, Jackson won’t be the only lineman worth tracking.
Zion Grady could be the biggest threat to steal the show. The sophomore brings the highest pure pass-rushing ceiling in the room outside of Jackson, and his explosiveness, bend and closing speed give him the chance to turn a small workload into a big impact.
Qua Russaw is another name to circle. The former five-star Alabama transfer gives Ohio State a different look entirely, with the versatility to move around and attack from multiple spots. Ball State could provide the first real look at how Matt Patricia plans to deploy him.
Beau Atkinson also enters the opener with something to prove after bringing production from North Carolina. He has the chance to turn a strong offseason into actual game-day impact and earn a clear place in the rotation.
Inside, James Smith is a high-upside name to watch. The former five-star Alabama transfer has the size and strength to matter on the interior, even while he continues to develop in Ohio State’s system. Eddrick Houston is in that same conversation after moving from the edge to defensive tackle, where his athleticism and versatility could create problems from the middle of the line.
John Walker may be one of the most important interior pieces of all. The former UCF transfer adds another powerful body for Larry Johnson, and he could play a major role in replacing the physicality and production Ohio State lost inside last season.
That’s what makes this opener so interesting. The Buckeyes have enough talent to come at Ball State in waves, and they do not need one lineman to carry the whole night.
But if Jackson is ready to become the next great Ohio State edge rusher, Saturday should give the first real proof. The bar isn’t a five-sack outburst.
It’s whether he looks like a player ready to become the centerpiece.
In Other News...
Ohio State Defense Faces An Early Test It Can't Dodge
Ohio States defense has no shortage of names to sort through after losing a wave of elite production from last season, and the first real chance to start answering those questions comes against Ball State. The Buckeyes are trying to replace proven playmakers at multiple spots, with the linebacker room drawing particular attention and several transfers expected to be part of the solution as the staff figures out what this group looks like in live action.
Jay Timmons is one of the more intriguing pieces in that mix, a freshman cornerback whose role could grow as the season settles in. For a defense that needs both confidence and chemistry, a game like this matters beyond the final score because it gives Ohio State a chance to see which combinations hold up, which ones need more time, and where the early uncertainty still lingers. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Is Giving Jim Tressel One Of Its Highest Honors
Ohio State is adding Jim Tressel to one of the programs most visible tributes, with his name set to join the Ring of Honor at Ohio Stadium. It is a fitting nod to a coach whose tenure in Columbus helped define an era, from the 2003 national championship to eight Big Ten titles, all of which will now be part of the display alongside his name.
Tressels place in Buckeyes history has long been secure, and this honor only reinforces how central his run from 2001 through 2010 remains to the programs identity. Already in the College Football Hall of Fame, he now gets another permanent reminder inside the stadium where his teams built so many of their biggest moments. [Read more 🡒]
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Just Reopened A Debate Ohio State Fans Never Settled
Jaxon Smith-Njigba revisited one of the most lingering Ohio State what-ifs during an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Show, where he addressed the hamstring injury that kept him out of the College Football Playoff and his decision not to play. He said he wanted to be on the field to help Ohio State win a national championship, but the injury left him unable to go, putting a painful cap on a season that had already made him one of the Buckeyes most electric playmakers.
Since then, Smith-Njigba has only added to the intrigue around that missed opportunity. He has become one of the NFLs top receivers, leading the league in receiving yards and earning a contract extension, which only sharpens the old debate over how much Ohio State might have gained if he had been able to suit up. For Buckeyes fans, it is the kind of conversation that never really dies, especially when the player at the center of it has gone on to prove just how high his ceiling really was. [Read more 🡒]