There may be no bigger shoes to fill on the OSU defense than those at the linebacker position.

Departed seniors AJ Hawk, Anthony Schlegel and Bobby Carpenter all went on to the NFL.

Fifth-year senior John Kerr and sophomores Marcus Freeman and James Laurinaitis were atop the OSU depth chart as of Tuesday. Freeman sat out last season with a knee injury while Laurinaitis started last season’s opener against Notre Dame.

But don’t look past this group as Kerr, a transfer, brings a year of Big Ten experience to the field: the 233-pound outside linebacker started for Indiana as a true freshman, collecting 114 tackles, 10 against OSU. He was also the only rookie to start all 12 games in 2002.

This group also lost all four of its starters from last season.

A three-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and graduate of OSU, Brandon Mitchell, brings wisdom to the secondary along with fifth-year senior cornerback Antonio Smith, a walk-on.

Smith was the leading candidate to replace first-round draft pick Ashton Youboty last season and has met expectations.

The two will be joined by sophomores Malcolm Jenkins, at cornerback, and Nick Patterson, at safety.

The group combines for eight starts, all recorded by Mitchell, with the 5-foot-9 Smith being the only member listed under 6-foot-1.

The Buckeyes allowed 21 touchdowns last season and 15.2 points per game.

Sean Connor is the NIU football beat reporter for the Northern Star.