Detroit Lions 2019-2023 LB - Steele Chambers ('22 Honorable Mention All-BIG)

Steele Chambers is now a full-time linebacker for Ohio State, and Ryan Day says the defensive coaches “have been very, very impressed right from the jump.” https://t.co/e9RSHEvqMp

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 9, 2021

 

Moving to linebacker from running back hasn't been easy for Steele Chambers, but his coaches and teammates have been impressed by how he's taken to his new position. https://t.co/sE39ji5tE7

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 12, 2021

 

Steele Chambers is embracing his move to linebacker, despite steep learning curve https://t.co/g04p3s7awc pic.twitter.com/I2VkdLNty9

— Buckeye Sports Bulletin (@Buckeye_Sports) August 15, 2021

 

STEELE CHAMBERS PLAYS MORE THAN K'VAUGHAN POPE
The surprises at linebacker don’t end with Eichenberg, because the rest of the depth chart broke down in unexpected ways as well when it comes to final snap counts on Thursday.

Redshirt sophomore Steele Chambers, who switched from running back at the end of this past spring, actually played more than senior K’Vaughan Pope against Minnesota, despite many considering Pope a frontrunner for a starting role at linebacker when the spring began.

Chambers said during the preseason that the transition back to linebacker, a position he played in high school, wasn’t exactly an easy task. However, his comfortability seems to be growing, as Chambers closed out the evening with two tackles and nine snaps played. Meanwhile, Pope’s future role is unclear, as the fourth-year Buckeye didn’t see any snaps at linebacker on Thursday, playing only on special teams.

 

RB-turned-LB Steele Chambers making the tackle while @JLaurinaitis55 raves about "team guy" @DemarioMccall is 💯. pic.twitter.com/th8vnFg527

— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) September 26, 2021

 

Thank god for Steele. Where would that room be without him?

 

• Chambers says it's clear that Ohio State is playing with "a lot more energy" on defense.

• Chambers says "it takes a lot of heart" to bounce back from a deflating loss like Ohio State had in Week 2, and "we definitely have that heart."

• Has the transition to LB been as easy as it looks? "Definitely not," Chambers says.

• Chambers on the team's reaction to Coombs getting the game ball: "Everyone was pumped up. I don't know how else you could really feel."

 

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Steele Chambers cut ups from yesterday pic.twitter.com/BAFDCCL7s2

— Colton Denning (@Dubsco) October 11, 2021

 

12 Buckeyes who have shattered preseason expectations through the first half of the regular season, including Ronnie Hickman, Denzel Burke and TreVeyon Henderson. https://t.co/D6RzK9Q16N

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 16, 2021

LB STEELE CHAMBERS
The former running back is proving a preseason position switch may not be so daunting after all.

A member of Tony Alford’s position room as recently as this past spring, Steele Chambers’ return to linebacker – a spot he excelled at in high school – continues to look like a home run as the season wears on.




Although Cody Simon and Teradja Mitchell have been Ohio State’s starters as of late, Chambers may now be the No. 3 linebacker in Al Washington’s room after a seven-tackle, one-sack performance against Maryland earned him defensive player of the game honors for the Buckeyes.

Mitchell and Hickman are the only Buckeyes with more solo tackles than Chambers’ 12 on the season, and his 19 total tackles are sixth-most on the team. Both of those stats are more impressive when considering that Chambers has played more than 100 fewer snaps than Simon, Mitchell or Tommy Eichenberg through six games.