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Ohio State spring game: 5-star freshman DE Jack Sawyer had a dominant 1st half

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

It’s only a spring game and there isn’t any live tackling, but Jack Sawyer appears to be the real deal.

The 5-star freshman defensive end, and Ohio State’s highest-ranked recruit in the 2021 class, had an impressive first half in Saturday’s spring game, recording 3 sacks. Obviously, it’s a little bit different with no tackling, but it still shows that Sawyer is able to put pressure on the quarterback.

Sawyer, who was a Top 5 recruit in the 2021 class, was the first defensive player to lose his black stripe this spring. It’s a tradition that dates back to the Urban Meyer days and signifies a player has done enough to officially call himself a Buckeye.

The freshman lived up to the hype in the first half.

Ohio State’s first half was full of plenty of highlights and big plays, particularly on the offensive end — likely a result of no tackling. But Sawyer is standing out on defense. He’s probably a player whose name you’ll be hearing a lot of the next few years.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB