When Ohio State loses its eighth of its 11 defensive starters from the 2015 season — assuming that Vonn Bell joins so many of his teammates in declaring for the NFL Draft — it will lose 465 of the 687 tackles made by its starting lineup. It will take far less time to point out the few non-holes than the holes left behind by three defensive linemen, two linebackers, both safeties and a cornerback.
That’s 68% of the tackles from the starting lineup alone and 53% of the entire team’s tackles from 2015.
The exodus began with Tommy Schutt’s season-ending injury and Adolphus Washington making a bad decision and prematurely ending his own career.