The first time Dawand Jones stepped onto the field as a Buckeye, special teams coach Matt Barnes had no care in the world about his future as a lineman. All he wanted from the 6-foot-8, 360-pound first-year offensive tackle was to help Ohio State block a field goal.
It happened against Cincinnati in the second week of the season, though Jones wasn’t the one to get his hand on the football. Chase Young blocked a kick for the first time in his career. Yet that was almost less interesting than the mere presence of Jones. A similar situation played out on Friday when Master Teague scampered for a career-long 73-yard touchdown that got overshadowed by Jones, who made a key block by using all of his weight to move a Northwestern defensive lineman and open up a running lane.