If the Ohio State defense is to take another step forward in year two under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, it will need more production from its defensive line than was received in 2022. To do so, however, defensive line coach Larry Johnson wants his players to remain focused on how their individual responsibilities can achieve overall success rather than chasing individual statistics.

Whether it was J.T. Tuimoloau’s otherworldly performance against Penn State or Mike Hall Jr.’s impressive showing at Michigan State, there were flashes of brilliance throughout the season. But the unit never reached the game-changing level of domination the program has come to expect under Johnson’s guidance. Ohio State finished last season with 34 sacks across 13 games, good for 35th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten.

In the final two games of the season, which resulted in losses to Michigan and Georgia, the Buckeyes managed just three sacks combined. Those numbers will need to improve for Ohio State to return to the conversation of being among the best in the country, but none of Johnson’s players are making that a primary focus.

“We don’t look at (individual) stats but the unit stats,” Johnson said. “What are we doing as a unit? Are we applying pressure? Are we getting there? That’s where we have to wait and see how it goes. To say one guy is this guy or one guy is that guy, it could all change. They could triple-team J.T. (Tuimoloau) and he’d never get a sack the whole season. Is he a bad player? No, it’s just the scheme. So you have to have that guy, or that guy, or that guy that can then change the game because you can’t double-team everybody.”

Johnson added that the line’s first priority has to be stopping the run, and if they accomplish that goal, the chances to harass the quarterback will fall into place.

“I just really want the concept to be that we want four guys —a unit— playing together as hard as we can, stop the run, and then have an opportunity to rush the passer,” he said. “That’s our goal every year and it’s our goal even more this year. We feel like if we can stop the run, we’ll have a chance to rush the passer. When that opportunity reveals itself, we should be ready to go. But we can’t do that until we make a team one-dimensional.”

As preseason camp enters the midway point, it remains to be seen who will carve out roles in Johnson’s rotations both on the edge and inside. Known commodities such as Tuimoloau, Hall, Jack Sawyer, Tyleik Williams, and Ty Hamilton, to name a few, will surely play big roles this season. Several other names such as Kenyatta Jackson, Caden Curry, Mitchell Melton, and Jaden McKenzie are still pushing for increased roles.

Having a deeper rotation, something that’s always been an emphasis for Johnson, benefits everyone in keeping players fresh, but head coach Ryan Day also hopes to see more from his top guys this season. During Big Ten Media Days last month, Day alluded to wanting Ohio State’s best defensive linemen on the field more this season and to “carry the water” for the majority of a game.

Asked about the emphasis being placed on his top producers playing more snaps this season, Johnson said there are many factors that play into how much those top guys play.

“It’s based on the game, the number of plays, and things that evolve in a game,” Johnson said. “You can’t go into a game and play a guy 90 plays and try to play a 15-game schedule and hope he can survive. You can’t do that. He’ll burn out at the end. He’ll look good in the beginning but then burn out.”

To identify how many plays a player can be expected to play at a high level during games, Johnson is constantly counting those quality snaps during practice periods. If a player begins to show signs of slowing after a certain number of repetitions in practice, Johnson can safely assume the same will be true on Saturdays. Johnson said he is still gathering that data during camp to determine how playing time will shake out to begin the season.

“Right now is an evaluation period,” he said. “We’re into our last two weeks going into this first game. I don’t know how many (I’ll play). I might play five guys, six guys. It really depends on how we develop and come along. That’s what determines what we do.”

Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.