A healthy Taron Vincent is turning heads in Ohio State’s spring practice
Taron Vincent was a star. The IMG Academy defensive tackle and son of five-time NFL Pro Bowler Troy Vincent was a five-star prospect in the 2018 class with offers from every major football program. When he committed to Ohio State and defensive line coach Larry Johnson, the expectation was that Vincent’s production from high school would quickly translate to the college game.
However, after three seasons in the Buckeye program, that expectation has not come to fruition. As a fourth-year junior, Vincent has 10 total tackles, two tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks, not the type of career he expected.
The blame for the lack of production can’t be put on Vincent. He has put in the work to play when he’s been available. The issue has been availability.
Vincent was part of the Buckeyes’ interior defensive line rotation as a freshman in 2018 and showed the type of promise that made him the second-best defensive tackle in the country according to the 247Sports Composite. But his sophomore season was derailed by an injury and he dealt with another lingering injury heading into last season that meant he didn’t see the field until late in the year.
The pandemic didn’t help things either. While the Ohio State players were away from the facility for multiple months leading into the summer, Vincent didn’t get the treatment he would have received if he were on campus. This slowed his return to the field.
“He wasn’t healthy last year. He couldn’t play,” Johnson said of Vincent on Friday. “He played late in the season when he got really healthy but he didn’t play a lot of football last year.”
The last few years haven’t been easy for Vincent. Coming to Ohio State as such a highly thought of player, he had expectations for himself. Vincent admitted he got frustrated with the injuries because he knew his ability and wanted to be on the field.
Fortunately, he had two good mentors in his father and his coach to help him get through it.
“Injuries are part of the game,” Vincent admitted. “I struggled with it at first but I talked to my dad and he’d just tell me, ‘It’s football, injuries come with the sport. This is what you signed up for.’ So once I kind of had that conversation, I just realized you’ve just got to get healthy. Once you get healthy, you know what you can do.”
Added Johnson: “It wasn’t easy for him because he wanted to be a part of it. I think the biggest thing he had, he kept telling his dad, ‘I’m letting the team down. I’m letting coach Johnson down,’ and I think that says a lot about who he is. His dad’s a great guy so he understands the game. But I’ll just tell you what he did, he went to work. He didn’t sit around and pout about it. He went to work at it and rehabbed.”
Heading into his fourth season in Columbus, Vincent is a changed player.
When asked about replacing nose guard Tommy Togiai, who put together an impressive enough 2020 to declare early for the NFL Draft, head coach Ryan Day listed a number of players on the interior of the Scarlet and Gray’s defensive line. He then spoke glowingly of Vincent.
“I think Taron Vincent has a chance to have a breakout year for us,” Day said. “He started off in the offseason with coach Mick (Marotti), he was gold in the strength and conditioning this quarter for champions and his play has been excellent. He’s definitely playing his best football and it all started in the offseason. He gave himself to coach Mick, he got the gold and now he’s about to take off. If you were asking me probably the most improved right now, I would probably say Taron up front.”
The difference for Vincent so far this year is that he is healthy. For the first time since his freshman year, the defensive tackle is not limited by pain or recovering from surgery or rehabbing an injury. Instead, he’s able to play football like he knows how and is doing so at a high level.
And while he may not have the snaps under his belt that many expected at this point in his career, Vincent still has experience and knowledge of the game as a veteran player who has been in the program for four years.
“I feel it physically. I feel stronger, faster, just more explosive off the ball and stuff like that,” he said. “I can feel it in my physical body and the game’s kind of slowing down now. I’m older now, I can see stuff happening before it happens.”
With Togiai off the NFL, there is an opening on the interior of Ohio State’s defensive line. While there are a number of players who can and will play alongside Haskell Garrett, Vincent expects to at least be part of that mix.
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Now that he’s healthy and able to do the things that made him a five-star player coming out of IMG, Vincent is ready to remind people just how good he can be for the Buckeyes in 2021.
“I’m really happy with where he’s at right now,” Johnson said. “And he’s deserved a break and he’s got a great break and we’re looking for really great things from him this fall.”
