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LGHL Ohio State has a Ryan Day problem, and Ryan Day has a Larry Johnson problem
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Ohio State has a Ryan Day problem, and Ryan Day has a Larry Johnson problem
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Poor staff decisions and even worse clock management have led to yet another Ohio State loss.
It was another big game for Ohio State under Ryan Day, and so naturally the outcome was another crushing loss. The Buckeyes fell in Eugene, 32-31, despite holding a 31-29 lead with four minutes remaining and then having a first-and-10 at the Oregon 28-yard line with 28 seconds left needing only a field goal to win the game.
We have come to expect these types of performances under Day, who is now 1-7 against AP Top 5 opponents. Ohio State hasn’t won anything of significance with the current head coach at the helm since the 49-28 victory over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl during the 2020 season, and even that immediately led to being boat-raced by Alabama in the national title game.
Since then, the Buckeyes have lost three-straight games to rival Michigan, lost to Oregon at home in 2021, choked away the Peach Bowl against Georgia in 2022 and failed to show up against Missouri in 2023. Winning games at the highest level is a clear challenge, but when you recruit as well as Ohio State does, even shooting less than 50% in these contests is simply not cutting it.
There were a plethora of reasons that Ohio State lost to Oregon on Saturday night, but chief among them is Ryan Day’s baffling defensive staff alignment. Jim Knowles is going to get a ton of flack for his performances in these big games, and some of that is warranted, but the overarching reason for the Buckeyes’ defensive shortcomings in these moments is a stubborn, ineffective defensive line coach.
Knowles came to Ohio State known for his defensive scheme that runs a base 4-2-5 structure with a few twists. One of those twists was the JACK position, a stand-up edge rusher that plays as a linebacker/defensive end hybrid capable of rushing the passer or dropping back into coverage to confuse opposing offenses. The Buckeyes have a ton of players on their roster that would be perfect for this position, including guys like Arvell Reese and CJ Hicks, who were basically recruited for that exact spot.
So, why does a position that is so important to Knowles’ scheme not exist at Ohio State? The answer is Larry Johnson.
Johnson has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s best defensive line coaches over his 26 years in the business. During the course of his career, he has produced nine first round NFL Draft picks. Eight different Buckeye defensive lineman have been named First Team All-American’s under Johnson’s tutelage. He is nothing short of a legend in the profession, but unfortunately for the Buckeyes, all of that is way in the past.
Ohio State has not fielded anything close to a good defensive line since the 2019 season, when Chase Young was basically wrecking opposing offenses by himself. Despite having five-star prospect after five-star prospect at his disposal year after year, Johnson has done nothing with it. In the two losses to Oregon and the three losses to Michigan, the Buckeyes have managed two sacks TOTAL. One of those was by Cody Simon, which means the defensive line has tallied ONE sack over those five losses.
A lack of pressure from the defensive line has been the one constant across all of these big game failures, and Johnson is to blame. Stuck in his ways, Johnson trots out his four-down front with zero creativity whatsoever, relying on each player to simply win his one-on-one matchups. That is all well and good... until you get into a talent equated game. There is hardly so much as a simple stunt from Ohio State’s defensive linemen, with four guys running straight into their blockers and remaining there until the play is over more often than not.
But what about that JACK position from Knowles’ scheme? Shouldn’t that mix things up for the pass rush? Sure, it would if Knowles was allowed to use the position.
Larry Johnson and Jim Knowles have feuded over the JACK position since the defensive coordinator arrived on campus. Rather than solving the dispute and telling the rest of his coordinators they must adapt to the man who is supposed to be the head coach of the defense in Knowles, Ryan Day has allowed LJ to play the seniority card and win the battle up front. Knowles, in effect, has control over only two-thirds of the defense, and the piece he is missing is both the most important one and the one that has been the least effective.
It is purely insane to allow this to continue. Early on, maybe you let Johnson continue to run his unit the way he wants because he had a proven track record, but those days are over. The defensive line has been a complete non-factor is all of these big game losses, letting the back end of the defense to get torched while the opposing quarterback can file his taxes in the backfield before making a throw.
The only thing Johnson has done effectively at Ohio State over the past five years is cost the team football games. Even his recruiting has taken a significant hit, with the Buckeyes missing out on several five-star prospects over the last few seasons as rumors of the 72-year-old’s retirement swirl. The few five-stars he does land he does nothing with, while the five-stars he misses, like Oregon’s Matayo Uiagalelei, go on to have a sack and two tackles for loss on Saturday night against the Buckeyes — more than Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau did combined.
There are many other reasons Ohio State lost to Oregon on Saturday night. Ryan Day managed the clock horribly at the end of the game, not knowing the rules of the clock on the pass interference call despite being paid $10 million to coach football. Ohio State turned the ball over and allowed an onside kick. Denzel Burke looked like Tuf Borland trying to chase down Devonta Smith on every defensive snap. ALL of these things played a role in the loss.
However, the constant in these big game losses has been a bad defensive line, led by an assistant coach far past his prime while actively hamstringing the defensive coordinator. Knowles has not been great by any means, but he is forced to try and overcome the shortcomings of the front, which is nearly impossible to do if the quarterback has all day to throw. He is effectively scheming both against opposing offenses and his own defensive line, which is an insane thing to do at ANY program, let alone a place like Ohio State.
At the end of the day, this is Ryan Day’s fault as the CEO of the program. He could snap his fingers tomorrow and end this dispute for good, but he is too scared to hurt feelings. As the head coach at a program of this magnitude, that is completely unacceptable. It is time to be the big man in the room and move on from a system that clearly isn’t working.
Continue reading...
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images
Poor staff decisions and even worse clock management have led to yet another Ohio State loss.
It was another big game for Ohio State under Ryan Day, and so naturally the outcome was another crushing loss. The Buckeyes fell in Eugene, 32-31, despite holding a 31-29 lead with four minutes remaining and then having a first-and-10 at the Oregon 28-yard line with 28 seconds left needing only a field goal to win the game.
We have come to expect these types of performances under Day, who is now 1-7 against AP Top 5 opponents. Ohio State hasn’t won anything of significance with the current head coach at the helm since the 49-28 victory over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl during the 2020 season, and even that immediately led to being boat-raced by Alabama in the national title game.
Since then, the Buckeyes have lost three-straight games to rival Michigan, lost to Oregon at home in 2021, choked away the Peach Bowl against Georgia in 2022 and failed to show up against Missouri in 2023. Winning games at the highest level is a clear challenge, but when you recruit as well as Ohio State does, even shooting less than 50% in these contests is simply not cutting it.
There were a plethora of reasons that Ohio State lost to Oregon on Saturday night, but chief among them is Ryan Day’s baffling defensive staff alignment. Jim Knowles is going to get a ton of flack for his performances in these big games, and some of that is warranted, but the overarching reason for the Buckeyes’ defensive shortcomings in these moments is a stubborn, ineffective defensive line coach.
Knowles came to Ohio State known for his defensive scheme that runs a base 4-2-5 structure with a few twists. One of those twists was the JACK position, a stand-up edge rusher that plays as a linebacker/defensive end hybrid capable of rushing the passer or dropping back into coverage to confuse opposing offenses. The Buckeyes have a ton of players on their roster that would be perfect for this position, including guys like Arvell Reese and CJ Hicks, who were basically recruited for that exact spot.
So, why does a position that is so important to Knowles’ scheme not exist at Ohio State? The answer is Larry Johnson.
Johnson has earned a reputation as one of the nation’s best defensive line coaches over his 26 years in the business. During the course of his career, he has produced nine first round NFL Draft picks. Eight different Buckeye defensive lineman have been named First Team All-American’s under Johnson’s tutelage. He is nothing short of a legend in the profession, but unfortunately for the Buckeyes, all of that is way in the past.
Ohio State has not fielded anything close to a good defensive line since the 2019 season, when Chase Young was basically wrecking opposing offenses by himself. Despite having five-star prospect after five-star prospect at his disposal year after year, Johnson has done nothing with it. In the two losses to Oregon and the three losses to Michigan, the Buckeyes have managed two sacks TOTAL. One of those was by Cody Simon, which means the defensive line has tallied ONE sack over those five losses.
A lack of pressure from the defensive line has been the one constant across all of these big game failures, and Johnson is to blame. Stuck in his ways, Johnson trots out his four-down front with zero creativity whatsoever, relying on each player to simply win his one-on-one matchups. That is all well and good... until you get into a talent equated game. There is hardly so much as a simple stunt from Ohio State’s defensive linemen, with four guys running straight into their blockers and remaining there until the play is over more often than not.
But what about that JACK position from Knowles’ scheme? Shouldn’t that mix things up for the pass rush? Sure, it would if Knowles was allowed to use the position.
Larry Johnson and Jim Knowles have feuded over the JACK position since the defensive coordinator arrived on campus. Rather than solving the dispute and telling the rest of his coordinators they must adapt to the man who is supposed to be the head coach of the defense in Knowles, Ryan Day has allowed LJ to play the seniority card and win the battle up front. Knowles, in effect, has control over only two-thirds of the defense, and the piece he is missing is both the most important one and the one that has been the least effective.
It is purely insane to allow this to continue. Early on, maybe you let Johnson continue to run his unit the way he wants because he had a proven track record, but those days are over. The defensive line has been a complete non-factor is all of these big game losses, letting the back end of the defense to get torched while the opposing quarterback can file his taxes in the backfield before making a throw.
The only thing Johnson has done effectively at Ohio State over the past five years is cost the team football games. Even his recruiting has taken a significant hit, with the Buckeyes missing out on several five-star prospects over the last few seasons as rumors of the 72-year-old’s retirement swirl. The few five-stars he does land he does nothing with, while the five-stars he misses, like Oregon’s Matayo Uiagalelei, go on to have a sack and two tackles for loss on Saturday night against the Buckeyes — more than Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau did combined.
There are many other reasons Ohio State lost to Oregon on Saturday night. Ryan Day managed the clock horribly at the end of the game, not knowing the rules of the clock on the pass interference call despite being paid $10 million to coach football. Ohio State turned the ball over and allowed an onside kick. Denzel Burke looked like Tuf Borland trying to chase down Devonta Smith on every defensive snap. ALL of these things played a role in the loss.
However, the constant in these big game losses has been a bad defensive line, led by an assistant coach far past his prime while actively hamstringing the defensive coordinator. Knowles has not been great by any means, but he is forced to try and overcome the shortcomings of the front, which is nearly impossible to do if the quarterback has all day to throw. He is effectively scheming both against opposing offenses and his own defensive line, which is an insane thing to do at ANY program, let alone a place like Ohio State.
At the end of the day, this is Ryan Day’s fault as the CEO of the program. He could snap his fingers tomorrow and end this dispute for good, but he is too scared to hurt feelings. As the head coach at a program of this magnitude, that is completely unacceptable. It is time to be the big man in the room and move on from a system that clearly isn’t working.
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