"Nobody wants it more than he does, so in this stage, for him to play the way he did, it means a lot to him."
Ohio State’s players and coaches preach that games are won in practice, so given that sophomore defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau had three interceptions in practice this week, his performance in Saturday’s 44-31 win over Penn State didn’t come as surprise to him or his teammates.
“Perfect practice makes a perfect play,” Tuimoloau said after a game in which he recorded six tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions – including one that he returned for a touchdown – one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass break up that led to a pick. “The other guys hold me accountable in practice, and that’s where it started.”
Tuimoloau, a former five-star prospect from Sammamish, Wash., recorded his first sack of the season in last week’s win over Iowa and appeared to carry that momentum over to Saturday when he deflected a pass that was intercepted by fellow defensive end Zach Harrison on the first defensive drive of the game.
The Buckeyes were unable to capitalize on the field position when sixth-year senior kicker Noah Ruggles missed a 53-yard field goal, but Tuimoloau got the ball right back when he dropped into coverage and picked off a pass that ultimately allowed Ohio State to build a 10-0 lead.
“Nobody wants it more than he does, so in this stage, for him to play the way he did, it means a lot to him,” head coach Ryan Day said. “He’s been right there. He’s been getting better every week. He’s wanted it. He’ll probably tell you he’s pressed at times, but he’s believes in Coach (Larry) Johnson, believes in the scheme and believes in the defense.”
Fast forward to when the Buckeyes were clinging to a 23-21 lead midway through the fourth quarter and Tuimoloau made his presence felt again with a strip sack of Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford. He recovered the fumble himself to set up quarterback C.J. Stroud’s 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cade Stover one play later.
Penn State quickly pulled within one score before sophomore running back TreVeyon Henderson broke off a 41-yard touchdown run to put Ohio State ahead by two scores. On the very next play, Tuimoloau shed a block and intercepted his second pass of the game, returning it 14 yards for the touchdown to seal the come-from-behind victory.
In doing so, Tuimoloau became first player in at least the last 15 seasons to record two interceptions, two sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and a defensive touchdown in a game. Former UCLA linebacker Keisean Lucier-South and former Appalachian State defensive tackle Demetrius Taylor had similar performances in 2018 and 2019, respectively, but neither had a second pick.
“It’s all kind of a blur the way that it happened, but to intercept balls like that as a defensive end and get a defensive score, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. That’s big time,” Day said. “(Tuimoloau) has put so much work into this. He’s an unbelievable player, but he’s a better person and you can see his talent. This was kind of his coming-out party today.”
The pick-six was an exclamation point on a defensive performance not seen in Columbus since former defensive end Chase Young recorded six tackles, five tackles for loss, a school-record-tying four sacks and two forced fumbles in a 38-7 win over Wisconsin back in 2019.
“When you get a defensive score like that, all of a sudden, the game changes,” Day said. “It was a two-score game at the time, and if they score, we’d have to play the game a little bit different ... The next play is a pick-six and all of a sudden you throw (the play sheet) up in the air and say, ‘That’s about it. We’re good boys.’ The sideline just went nuts, so that was my favorite (play from Tuimoloau).”
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