Two of the top five defensive recruits in Ohio State’s 2022 class, C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers might have been high on your list of impact freshmen heading into last season.
But if you were looking for No. 11 and No. 36 on the gridiron, you only would’ve spotted them on special teams. Neither Hicks, a five-star prospect and the seventh-rated overall player in his class, nor Powers, a four-star recruit and the eighth-best linebacker in the country, took a single snap on defense during their freshman season.
Given the performance of Ohio State’s starting linebacker duo in 2022, the lack of opportunities for younger Buckeyes seemed justified.