Ohio State defensive tackle Adam Bellamy has left the team for personal reasons, the school announced Friday. Bellamy, who started 10 games at tackle for a defense ranked 19th in the country (323.5 ypg), recorded 25 tackles and a fumble recovery last season. 

Defensive line coach Mike Vrabel, the former New England Patriots linebacker, sounded optimistic about a potential return at some point. 

“Adam is working through some personal family matters right now,” Vrabel said to Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch. “When he gets that taken care of, we’ll welcome him back with open arms. Our guys want him in the [meeting] room. We miss him in the room. When Adam gets those things taken care of, he’s going to be able to come back.”

Bellamy’s departure gives senior Nathan Williams, a bullish pass rusher featured above in a video taken by elevenwarriors, a potential opportunity. Williams, who is recovering from microfracture knee surgery, said earlier this week that he’s about 90 percent healthy and is extremely eager to participate in team drills. 

Should Williams’ recovery go as planned, it could be an enormous boost to an already loaded defensive line. Williams had 11 sacks and 26 career tackles for loss before missing nearly all of last season with the injury. 

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