A solid defensive line starts with continuity, or in Ohio’s latest campaign, a crutch.
Although the Bobcats graduated last season’s two defensive line anchors and are using some young players in their places, junior Antwan Crutcher has been a stable force, starting every game this season — his best since first suiting up for the Green and White three years ago.
Crutcher helps lead a defensive line unit that is largely dominated by underclassmen. He has performed well statistically as well as a leader, notably racking up seven tackles Oct. 5 against Akron and eight against Central Michigan on Oct. 12.
“Every week we tell him, ‘Crutch, you set the tempo, we’ll match it,’” freshman defensive lineman Tarell Basham said. “‘You set the pace of the game and the rest of the defense will match off of you,’ and if Crutch comes out there and he’s flying around making plays, then everybody’s going to fly around and make plays.”
Ohio defensive line coach Jesse Williams said Crutcher is given a lot of leadership responsibility, especially because he is the only lineman that’s started every game this season.
“He’s been our rock, and we’re going to continue to lean on him,” Williams said. “The good thing about it is we’ve had enough numbers to where he doesn’t have to take 60-70 reps a game, so I think that’s what allowed him to stay fresher. Our goal early was to make sure he played every game, and that’s a challenge at the nose guard position.”
Crutcher was ranked the nation’s No. 66 defensive tackle by ESPN as a high school senior from Glenville High School in Cleveland. He was also a member of the school’s wrestling team and never lost a conference match in four years. Crutcher holds the school’s quickest pin, five seconds, and credited some of his football success to what he learned on the wrestling mat.
“I think that helped me the most with my football abilities because I learned in wrestling, the low man wins,” Crutcher said. “I learned to use my hands very well in wrestling, and I just bring this to football, so [I] always make sure I’m lower than the guy I’m playing against and always make sure my hands take me where I need to go.”
This season, Crutcher ranks fifth among Ohio defenders with 36 tackles and is poised to surpass his sophomore-season total of 40, which almost tripled his marks from his freshman campaign. Crutcher also has five tackles that resulted in a loss of 11 yards this season.
He said his experience with Ohio has helped him have more poise on the field and to see the game “slower.”
“I started getting it the end of my freshman year, but I really didn’t play a lot,” Crucher said. “So it was kind of fast, but toward the middle of my sophomore year, that’s when it started clicking with me. This year I started off slow but it never got faster.”
He is a member of the team’s unity council — an elected group that leads the team on and off the field — an experience he said has helped him become a better mentor for his youthful defensive line cohorts.
“It’s helped me a lot, because with football I learned to handle different situations,” Crutcher said. “It helped me mature internally and helped the younger guys.”
Ohio redshirt senior defensive lineman Nic Barber said he has been impressed with Crutcher’s leadership.
“He’s made a lot of progression throughout this year,” Barber said. “He’s really stepped up, taking on the role of being that big inside guy, so we really appreciate what he’s doing out there. He’s doing great things. I’m glad to have him on my D-line.”
ck813711@ohiou.edu
This article appeared in print under the headline "Lineman provides stability for Bobcats"
