For the past two weeks, Ohio State has laid claim to the nation's best scout team defensive end.
That's not necessarily a good thing, as the Buckeyes would have preferred that Noah Spence had been wearing his familiar No. 8 scarlet jersey and taking the field with one of the nation's best defensive lines on Saturdays.
But as the Buckeyes walked off the field in the weeks leading up to matchups with Navy and Virginia Tech, Spence found himself wearing the black practice jersey reserved for helping simulate Ohio State's opponents. And on Saturdays, he was nowhere to be seen—at least inside the stadium.
It wasn't supposed to be this way, but Spence put himself in this position when a positive drug test at the Big Ten Championship Game resulted in a mandatory three-game suspension. In addition to missing the first two games of the 2014 season, the All-Big Ten selection missed last season's Orange Bowl and watched as the Buckeyes went an underwhelming 1-2 in his absence.
The son of two probation officers, Spence maintains that he was unknowingly slipped Ecstasy at a party last winter. But regardless of the actual reason why the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native found himself suspended—and relegated to Ohio State's scout team—his punishment will come to an end this Saturday when the Buckeyes host Kent State.
For an Ohio State team coming off of last weekend's 35-21 defeat at the hands of Virginia Tech, his return can't come soon enough.
“He’s an exceptional player and I know myself and his family are very anxious to see him play,” Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said on Tuesday. "He went down to the scout team and performed for the last two weeks. [He's] very selfless, and we’re anxious to get him going.”
On Ohio State's first depth chart since Spence returned from suspension, the former 5-star prospect found himself listed as a backup to senior Steve Miller. But it's hard to imagine Spence's status as a second-stringer being anything more than just a temporary title, as the junior is already being projected as a first-round pick in next May's NFL draft.
The hype surrounding Spence isn't without cause, either, after a sophomore season that saw him record 50 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks. What's scarier for opposing offensive lines is that the 6'3", 252-pounder has only gotten better this past offseason, despite being in the midst of an ongoing suspension.
“He made a lot of improvement," said Ohio State defensive coordinator Chris Ash. “We saw a lot of strides in the spring from him from the time we started until the time we ended in spring practice."
Those strides continued into fall camp, where Spence was permitted to take part in individual defensive linemen drills, even though he was lining up against the Buckeyes starters once scrimmage sessions started. He even managed to make a positive impression on new OSU defensive line coach Larry Johnson, who came close to securing a commitment from the Keystone State product when he was an assistant at Penn State.
“He wants to be a great player," Johnson said of Spence in the offseason. "Great players work hard and work through adversity and that’s what he’s doing.”
But while Spence was getting better off the field, his team was getting worse on it, enduring a four-game stretch that included three losses dating back to the Big Ten title game.
That's not to say that Ohio State's primary issue has been its defensive line—Michael Bennett, Joey Bosa and Adolphus Washington could help make up one of the best in the country on their own—but against the likes of the Hokies and Clemson, it's hard to argue that every bit of talent wouldn't have helped the Buckeyes' cause. Ash said that Ohio State's struggles were the result of execution and not personnel, but he also didn't downplay the impact that a player of Spence's stature could have on a game.
"It might have made a difference," Ash admitted on Monday. "Noah's a very talented player. He fits well in our scheme. He has a tremendous ability to get after the quarterback and I think it's going to help us a lot."
Those attributes will only aid the Buckeyes moving forward as they look to salvage their season after their early-season loss. And Ohio State obviously couldn't be happier to have its All-Big Ten defensive end back on the field—even if the Buckeyes scout team will suffer in the process.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Ohio State Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
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