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DT Taron Vincent (San Antonio Brahmas)

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A HEALTHY TARON VINCENT RAISES CEILING OF OHIO STATE’S DEFENSIVE TACKLES

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Testaments to the stature of Ohio State’s football program come in numerous forms.

Conference championships, primetime victories, recruiting coups, or, in the case of Taron Vincent last fall, forgotten, sidelined five-star prospects.

Oftentimes, the loss of somebody as talented or as heralded as Taron Vincent would set a team back significantly. The 6-foot-2, 295-pound interior lineman was the nation’s 20th-best overall recruit and the No. 1 defensive tackle when he signed with the Buckeyes in 2018. As a freshman, he ended the season with a season-high 19 snaps in the Rose Bowl, potentially springboarding him toward a starting role in a post-Dre’Mont Jones world. Instead, a torn labrum in his right shoulder a week before the 2019 season kicked off kept him out the entire fall.

Most programs that don’t collect five-star recruits like candy on Halloween would respond by wilting. In the case of Ohio State, however, defensive line coach Larry Johnson simply reloaded. Jashon Cornell started at 3-technique, Haskell Garrett backed him up, and the Buckeyes’ defensive line thrived.

Technically, Johnson again shouldn't need a fully healthy Vincent to put together a quality interior defensive line in 2020. Garrett and Jerron Cage return as fourth-year 3-techniques, and Tommy Togiai is joined by Antwuan Jackson Jr. at nose tackle. Together, they’d be a formidable unit.

But provided Vincent’s healthy, and Johnson says he is, then he raises the ceiling for what Ohio State can expect out of its defensive tackles.

“I think it will be a very competitive fall when we get going again,” Johnson said a couple of weeks ago. “Who's going to be the guy who jumps out? So that's what I'm looking forward to. (Vincent) has the skillset, certainly has the mental phase of the game. Now it's just a matter of playing football – again.”

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...ses-ceiling-of-ohio-state-s-defensive-tackles
 
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DEFENSIVE TACKLE TARON VINCENT COULD BE THE KEY TO REBUILDING OHIO STATE'S DEFENSIVE LINE

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Ohio State's defensive line is going to look very different this fall.

The Buckeyes have to find a replacement for the program's best-ever pass-rusher in Chase Young, who set a new single-season benchmark for sacks (16.5) despite serving a mid-season two-game suspension in 2019.

They'll also need to replace their two starting defensive tackles in DaVon Hamilton and Jashon Cornell, as well as the defensive line's top rotational player in Robert Landers. Those three were pivotal in anchoring Ohio State's defensive line and occupying bodies to allow Young to come off the edge.

Some important pieces from that 2019 unit are back. Defensive end Zach Harrison has the opportunity to become Ohio State's next great pass-rusher, following in the footsteps of Joey and Nick Bosa, and of course, Young. Defensive tackles Tommy Togiai, Haskell Garrett and Antwuan Jackson provide both depth and experience on the interior.

But Taron Vincent's return could be the key to effectively rebuilding Ohio State's defensive line in 2020.

Vincent came to Ohio State as one of the crown jewels of the nation's second-ranked 2018 recruiting class. He was part of the trio of 5-star prospects that signed with the Buckeyes that year, and he was rated the top interior defensive lineman in the country.

That raw talent and potential helped him earn playing time as a reserve during Ohio State's 2018 season, but he got better as the season wore on. In his first 13 games with the Buckeyes, he saw just 79 plays of action. But during the lead up to Ohio State's matchup against Washington in the Rose Bowl, he earned more of the coaches' trust and got in for 19 plays in the 28-23 victory.

That should've set Vincent up to become a regular contributor to Ohio State's defensive line in 2019, but a preseason shoulder injury that required surgery ended his sophomore season before it started.

“The beginning of the season was hard just standing there,” Vincent said after Ohio State's 34-21 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game last December. “I'm used to it now, and I'm just here to encourage everybody and keep their heads up and stuff.”

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...-key-to-rebuilding-ohio-states-defensive-line
 
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THIRD-YEAR OUTLOOK
With Cornell now in the NFL, Vincent is expected to compete with Garrett for a starting spot in preseason camp. Given that Larry Johnson likes to rotate his defensive linemen regularly and that Ohio State currently has only six true defensive tackles on scholarship, there should be plenty of playing time available to Vincent regardless of whether he’s in the starting lineup.

Because Garrett has already been a regular in the rotation for multiple seasons, he might enter the summer with the upper hand for the starting job, especially after the Buckeyes had only one week of spring practices, which was an important time for Vincent to get back up to speed after so much time on the sidelines. That said, Vincent might have the highest upside of any defensive tackle on the roster, and Johnson liked what he saw from Vincent in the few March practices they did have.

“I was really pleased that he returned from his rehab, from his injury really well,” Johnson said in April. “I think our staff did a great job of getting him ready, and just as we were getting going, you started to see some of the things you recruited him for. Just unfortunate we ended so early. But we're hopeful we'll get back together and get going again. I'm really looking forward to some big things for him going into the fall.

“One thing Taron has really done a good job is developing skills. We want Taron to be a great pass-rusher at the 3-technique. You guys know how I feel about the pass rush at the 3-tech position – that's the guy who's the key to our defense a lot of times. So he has to take on that role. He can play the run well, is a very physical player. He runs about 295 (pounds). He's really the ideal of what we're looking for in a guy to play that position.”

Now that Chase Young (along with Cornell, DaVon Hamilton and Robert Landers) is no longer at Ohio State, the Buckeyes are going to need a multitude of defensive linemen to step up to continue to have an elite pass rush, and Vincent offers the most potential of any Buckeye defensive tackle to make a big impact in that phase of the game in 2020.

Of course, he remains unproven, which it makes difficult to forecast exactly what to expect from Vincent in his third year. While he demonstrated elite athleticism for his size and dominant ability in high school, his opportunities to showcase his skill set have mostly been limited to the practice field in Columbus so far.

He should get plenty of opportunities this season, though, and he’s more than capable of emerging as Ohio State’s next star interior defensive lineman once he gets going.

“Just a whole lot of plays,” Vincent said when asked by Eleven Warriors in December what Ohio State fans should expect to see from him in 2020.
 
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DT Taron Vincent
Ohio State has dominated in the trenches on the defensive side of the ball through three games due to Tommy Togiai’s rise and the sudden emergence of Haskell Garrett as a force at three-technique. But one name is missing: Taron Vincent. The former five-star prospect was slated to have a big year last season before an injury sidelined him for its entirety. Now this season, Vincent appears to be battling more injuries and can’t seem to stay healthy for the Buckeyes. But if he can use the off week to polish his skills and be 100 percent heading into the final four games of the year, the Buckeyes defense will be better for it. Vincent can have an impact — if he can stay on the field.
 
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RB07OSU said:
Hope that is true, we need it to be. Someone has to step up next to Haskell.
Click to expand...

Yeah, hopefully he'll be the other DT:



“I'll just tell you what he did. He went to work,” Johnson said. “He didn't sit around and pout about it. He went to work at it and rehabbed. I think that's why he's at the position he is right now. That he worked hard in rehab to get back on the field, and that really accelerated it when we started practice here. I'm really happy with where he's at right now. He deserves a break, and he's got a great break. We're looking for really great things from him this fall.”
 
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Former 5-star recruits facing prove-it years in college football

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247Sports Composite Rank: No. 20 in 2018 class

Like a few players on this list, Vincent’s runway as an impact player has been impacted by injuries. After playing 100 saps his true freshman season, Vincent missed all of 2019 with an injury and was hobbled by another lingering injury for much of last year. But following a strong spring and with Tommy Togiai off to the NFL, Vincent projects to get his chance this year.

“He’s definitely playing his best football, and it all started in the offseason,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said this spring, per Bucknuts. “If you were asking me probably the most improved right now, I would probably say Taron up front.”

Vincent is entering his fourth season at Ohio State. We should have a much better idea about the arc of his career once the 2021 campaign is done. For now, he projects as a starter. And if that’s the case, he’s very likely to have an NFL future given his talent and Ohio State’s track record up front.

Entire article: https://247sports.com/LongFormArtic...ears-in-college-football-166631959/#1658268_7
 
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