New Linebacker U?
Austin Spitler, Ross Homan and Brian Rolle carry on an Ohio State tradition
By TIM MAY
The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS — Just in case Austin Spitler hadn’t been paying attention for five years, former Ohio State coach Earle Bruce laid it out for him and the rest of the Buckeyes this week.
“He told us, ‘If you want to be a great player, remember, here at the Ohio State University you have to play great vs. Michigan,’’’ Spitler said. “It’s the last regular-season game, it’s the greatest rivalry of them all, it’s the most fierce game of the year, and everybody strives to make that big play, and it’s important to make a play that’s going to impact the game.”
Perhaps. But making a play that helps cement a Rose Bowl bid, like Spitler did last week in an overtime win over Iowa, is memorable, too. Ross Homan had an interception, and both of them teamed with fellow linebacker Brian Rolle to help stuff the Iowa running game.
This was supposed to be a fall-off season for Ohio State linebacking, with the loss of starters James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman to the NFL. But Spitler, a senior, and Rolle, a junior, were thrust into those starting jobs for the first time next to Homan, a junior who had played about half the time last season.
Going into a game Saturday at Michigan, Ohio State is fourth nationally against the run (83.7-yard average). Rush defense is a team effort, but a team doesn’t get statistics like that without great linebacker play.
“I’m not surprised at all by their play because I’ve been playing with those guys for four years and I’ve seen what they can do in practice,” safety Anderson Russell said. “Ross has been playing a lot since he’s been here. B-Rolle is somebody who always flew around and gave tremendous effort on special teams, so you could see he had the potential to be a special player.
“And Austin, he has always been somebody who has been a leader. He was always behind the scenes as far as you guys [media and fans] were concerned, but we knew he was a good player all along. He’s finally getting his chance this year.”
But among the players being replaced was Laurinaitis, a three-time All-American.
“We didn’t look at it like that,” Spitler said. “We rolled into it, worked the same way we’ve always worked, and just took it in stride, I guess.”
Homan and Rolle lead the Buckeyes in tackles with 84 and 82, respectively. Spitler, who he often leaves the field when Ohio State plays a nickel defense, is down the list with 32, though that includes five tackles for loss.
Fans knew what they were getting with Homan, but Rolle and Spitler were journeymen until this season because of Laurinaitis and Freeman.
“They were frustrated,” defensive lineman Doug Worthington said. “I remember B-Rolle being real frustrated the last couple of years because he plays great in practice, but you have guys like Marcus Freeman and James in front of him. And there were no mistakes they made to propel them [Rolle and Spitler] onto the field.”
Once they finally gained starting spots, though, they brought their own flavor to the mix.
“B-Rolle is a different guy, he’s a funny guy, a Florida guy,” Worthington said. “He goes on the field with a different kind of feeling, a different kind of swagger. He’s small [5-foot-11], so he’s got a lot of things to prove.
“And Austin is a hard worker. He gets after it. He wants to make that play. He’s hard to block and he’s strong as an ox.”
Unlike Homan and Rolle, Spitler, a fifth-year senior, had just one season to make his mark as a starter. But he looks at it more as the threesome carrying on the linebacking tradition at Ohio State.
“I think we’ve done a fine job,” Spitler said. “Obviously, it’s hard to compare yourself to other players, and I would never want to do that. We’re different players in many aspects. But I think we’ve come up to the challenge and done just fine with it.”
Worthington agreed and said he wasn’t surprised.
“Guys like that, they’re just stars in waiting,” he said. “Now that they’ve had the chance to [play], I think they’ve been having a great season.”