Ohio State has finished its nonconference work, and the next stop is Big Ten play with Illinois headed to Ohio Stadium this week. Three games in, the Buckeyes have gotten a real look at some of their younger and less proven pieces, and a few names have already started to separate themselves.
The early sample has pointed to five players who look like they could become much bigger parts of this team as the season moves along: Jay Timmons, Jason Moore, Ja’Kobi Jackson, Riley Pettijohn and Khary Wilder.
Timmons has probably been the loudest early success story. The true freshman forced his way into the starting nickel job in the offseason, and he has backed that up through three games with production and impact plays.
He has eight tackles and three passes defended on 122 defensive snaps, and his Week 2 showing against Texas stood out when he forced a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and later laid a big hit on Arch Manning. The Pennsylvania native has shown a feel for the ball in the slot and around the line of scrimmage, which is exactly the kind of trait that makes a nickel defender dangerous.
Moore is another player whose role has grown quickly. The defensive tackle arrived at Ohio State as a highly regarded recruit in the 2023 class, but his playing time had been limited before this fall.
That has changed in a hurry. He already has nine tackles and half a sack on 73 defensive snaps, and in a six-man tackle rotation that includes Eddrick Houston, James Smith, John Walker, Khary Wilder and Will Smith Jr., he has been the highest-graded player, according to Pro Football Focus.
At running back, Ja’Kobi Jackson has pushed his way into the conversation even with Bo Jackson, Isiah West and freshman Legend Bey on the roster. Jackson came to Ohio State after starting at the junior college level at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale, Mississippi, then spending time at Florida, where he ran for 607 yards and seven touchdowns across the 2024 and 2025 seasons.
With the Buckeyes, he has already piled up 150 yards and four touchdowns. One of his best moments came against Texas, when he scored from eight yards out by powering through defenders and stretching the ball over the goal line.
Bo Jackson remains Ohio State’s lead back with 230 rushing yards on 39 carries, but Ja’Kobi has made himself a real second option.
Riley Pettijohn has also flashed the kind of playmaking that can change a defense. Ohio State is using four linebackers for meaningful snaps - Payton Pierce, Christian Alliegro, Pettijohn and TJ Alford - and Pettijohn looks like the most explosive of the group.
He had a sack at Texas and then picked off Kent State quarterback Dru DeShields. Against Kent State, he played 27 defensive snaps, matching Alford for the most among the Buckeyes’ linebackers.
Pettijohn played 77 snaps last season while dealing with an injury, then missed the spring, but he has worked his way back toward the path he seemed to be on as a former four-star prospect.
Wilder may not have a starting job next to his name yet, but Ohio State is already treating him like a starter in one specific area. Ryan Day considers the freshman defensive lineman a starter in the Buckeyes’ third-down, pass-rush-focused packages.
The staff has not asked him to handle every-down duty, but they clearly view him as a weapon in the middle of the line when the game turns to passing situations. Wilder played 17 snaps in his first game against Ball State, then five against Texas, and all five of those were at defensive tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
Ohio State used a similar approach with cornerback Devin Sanchez last year, giving him a defined role before injuries eventually pushed him into the lineup.
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