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LGHL Biggest Concern: Which version of Matt Patricia will the Buckeyes defense get this season?
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Biggest Concern: Which version of Matt Patricia will the Buckeyes defense get this season?
Cincinnati1968 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jan 25, 2020; Mobile, AL, USA; North head coach Matt Patricia of the NFL’s Detroit Lions grins after getting dunked following the North win the 2020 Senior Bowl college football game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
Not only is Particia new, but so too are a lot of players on defense for the Buckeyes this season.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Biggest Concerns. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Biggest Concerns here.
Recency bias can have an impact on our perceptions and expectations. It can definitely be applied to new Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Patricia is anything but new, though, to being a defensive coordinator. He won two Super Bowls as the leader of the New England Patriots defense in 2014 and 2016, the latter of those two led by the Patriots No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL. In addition, Patricia was an assiatant offensive line coach on the Patriots Super Bowl XXXIX winning team in 2004, and he coached in three other Super Bowls as a member of the Patriots defensive staff.
That’s the good of Patricia’s coaching career. But again, recency bias. Since 2017, Patricia has been the head coach of the Detroit Lions- he was fired 11 games into his third season in 2020- and has held senior defensive positions with both the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Unfortunately, those stints with the Patriots and Eagles have put some stains on his coaching resume. Patricia was the Patriots offensive play-caller in 2022, a season where the Patriots went from sixth the previous season to 17th in scoring the following season. The next season, 2023, Patricia took over as the Eagles defensive play-caller with four games remaining in the regular-season and produced dreadful results in those games and in the Wild Card round of the Playoffs.
So there’s good and not-so-good with Patricia’s career. Now, he’s being tasked with leading a Buckeyes defense that will look a lot different personnel-wise in 2025. Not to mention, the Buckeyes are coming off a season where they led the country in points and yards allowed per game.
To quote Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino, Jack Sawyer isn’t walking through that door. Tyliek Williams isn’t walking through that door. JT Tuimoloau isn’t walking through that door. Neither are five other players from last year’s defense that were selceted in the NFL Draft this past April.
There is a lot of new on this Buckeyes defense, a lot of unprovenness. Combine that with a new defensive coordinator that hasn’t coached at the college level since he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse in 2003, on top of his struggles in his coaching roles since coordinating the Patriots defense, and that is plenty of reason for concern.
The good news is Caleb Downs is returning this season. That’s a big start for Patricia. He’ll also have Davison Igbinosun returning in the secondary and Sonny Styles returning at linebacker. Having a player the caliber of Downs returning is key for Patricia to build his defense.
But my concern is up front. The Big Ten is a conference rooted in trench warfare, being able to run the football, grounding and pounding and having a team conducive to play in the elements come November. Can Patricia’s defense be that? Is the Buckeyes defense going to be able to slow down the running games of Penn State, Oregon, Michigan and Washington?
They play three of those teams in the regular season, including Michigan and Washington on the road. Ohio State’s defense is going to have to find a way to slow down opposing teams’ running games with nearly a completely new-look front seven. That’s not going to be easy, especially with skepticism surroudning Patricia leading this new-look Buckeyes defense.
If Patricia can recapture his coaching genius that made the Patriots defense so good from 2006-2017, the Buckeyes will be able to make the transition with their new personnel on defense. But if Patricia brings any remnants of his previous three roles, that’s only going to create more pressure for a Buckeyes offense that also has new faces at key positions.
How far Ohio State goes this season may be contingent on the performance of its defense. It’s a matter of which verison of Patricia unfolds this season. This is a big concern, undoubtedly, going into thw 2025 season with the Buckeyes looking to repeat as national champions.
Continue reading...
Cincinnati1968 via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Jan 25, 2020; Mobile, AL, USA; North head coach Matt Patricia of the NFL’s Detroit Lions grins after getting dunked following the North win the 2020 Senior Bowl college football game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
Not only is Particia new, but so too are a lot of players on defense for the Buckeyes this season.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Biggest Concerns. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Biggest Concerns here.
Recency bias can have an impact on our perceptions and expectations. It can definitely be applied to new Buckeyes defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
Patricia is anything but new, though, to being a defensive coordinator. He won two Super Bowls as the leader of the New England Patriots defense in 2014 and 2016, the latter of those two led by the Patriots No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL. In addition, Patricia was an assiatant offensive line coach on the Patriots Super Bowl XXXIX winning team in 2004, and he coached in three other Super Bowls as a member of the Patriots defensive staff.
That’s the good of Patricia’s coaching career. But again, recency bias. Since 2017, Patricia has been the head coach of the Detroit Lions- he was fired 11 games into his third season in 2020- and has held senior defensive positions with both the Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles.
Unfortunately, those stints with the Patriots and Eagles have put some stains on his coaching resume. Patricia was the Patriots offensive play-caller in 2022, a season where the Patriots went from sixth the previous season to 17th in scoring the following season. The next season, 2023, Patricia took over as the Eagles defensive play-caller with four games remaining in the regular-season and produced dreadful results in those games and in the Wild Card round of the Playoffs.
So there’s good and not-so-good with Patricia’s career. Now, he’s being tasked with leading a Buckeyes defense that will look a lot different personnel-wise in 2025. Not to mention, the Buckeyes are coming off a season where they led the country in points and yards allowed per game.
To quote Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Rick Pitino, Jack Sawyer isn’t walking through that door. Tyliek Williams isn’t walking through that door. JT Tuimoloau isn’t walking through that door. Neither are five other players from last year’s defense that were selceted in the NFL Draft this past April.
There is a lot of new on this Buckeyes defense, a lot of unprovenness. Combine that with a new defensive coordinator that hasn’t coached at the college level since he was a graduate assistant at Syracuse in 2003, on top of his struggles in his coaching roles since coordinating the Patriots defense, and that is plenty of reason for concern.
The good news is Caleb Downs is returning this season. That’s a big start for Patricia. He’ll also have Davison Igbinosun returning in the secondary and Sonny Styles returning at linebacker. Having a player the caliber of Downs returning is key for Patricia to build his defense.
But my concern is up front. The Big Ten is a conference rooted in trench warfare, being able to run the football, grounding and pounding and having a team conducive to play in the elements come November. Can Patricia’s defense be that? Is the Buckeyes defense going to be able to slow down the running games of Penn State, Oregon, Michigan and Washington?
They play three of those teams in the regular season, including Michigan and Washington on the road. Ohio State’s defense is going to have to find a way to slow down opposing teams’ running games with nearly a completely new-look front seven. That’s not going to be easy, especially with skepticism surroudning Patricia leading this new-look Buckeyes defense.
If Patricia can recapture his coaching genius that made the Patriots defense so good from 2006-2017, the Buckeyes will be able to make the transition with their new personnel on defense. But if Patricia brings any remnants of his previous three roles, that’s only going to create more pressure for a Buckeyes offense that also has new faces at key positions.
How far Ohio State goes this season may be contingent on the performance of its defense. It’s a matter of which verison of Patricia unfolds this season. This is a big concern, undoubtedly, going into thw 2025 season with the Buckeyes looking to repeat as national champions.
Continue reading...
2026 CA WR Chris Henry Jr. Is a Buckeye!!!
- By brodybuck21
- Football Recruiting
- 298 Replies
Login to view embedded media Rumored to be now 6'6 200lbs
lol imagine the DB's in HS trying to guard these guys?????
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2026 CA WR Chris Henry Jr. Is a Buckeye!!!
- By pnuts34
- Football Recruiting
- 298 Replies
Login to view embedded media
Rumored to be now 6'6 200lbs
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DB Cody Haddad (Official Thread)
- By brodybuck21
- Buckeye Football
- 29 Replies
Better Know a Buckeye: Cody Haddad Gives Ohio State Another Versatile Safety But Must Bulk Up As Freshman
By Josh Poloha on June 19, 2025 at 10:10 am @jorshp
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Better Know A Buckeye is our look at every member of Ohio State’s 2025 recruiting class and how they became Buckeyes as they prepare to begin their OSU careers this fall.
The Buckeyes prioritized St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) safety Cody Haddad later in the process, but the Northeast Ohio product was always going to stay home once he received the Ohio State offer he had always dreamed of. It didn't take long for the three-star safety to choose the Buckeyes, as he was offered by OSU, decommitted from Wisconsin and committed to Ohio State in the span of three months.
As the saying goes, the best in Ohio stay in Ohio, and Haddad brings the type of versatility to the Buckeyes that has become a big part of Ohio State’s secondary of late.
Cody Haddad
- Size: 5-11/175
- Position: S
- School: St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio)
- 247Sports Composite: ★★★
- Composite Rank: #45 S
- Overall Rank: #522
How He Became a Buckeye
Ohio State offered Haddad in January 2024, days after he committed to Wisconsin. The in-state safety's connection to OSU became even more evident when he decommitted from Wisconsin after a weekend visit to Columbus, days after visiting OSU for the weekend in late March of that year.Haddad built a close relationship with Matt Guerrieri across multiple visits to Ohio State, and that was all he needed to decide the Buckeyes gave him the best opportunity to succeed both on and off the field. Haddad committed to Ohio State on April 13, 2024.
Haddad is the 22nd St. Ignatius alum to play for OSU, following in the footsteps of Buckeye greats such as LeCharles Bentley, Anthony Gonzalez and Dre'Mont Jones. He's the first St. Ignatius product to sign with Ohio State since Tommy Eichenberg did in 2019.
Better Know a Buckeye: Cody Haddad Gives Ohio State Another Versatile Safety But Must Bulk Up As Freshman
Cody Haddad must add to his slender 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame before he can showcase his versatility and athleticism as a do-it-all safety in Ohio State's defensive backfield.
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LGHL Biggest Concern: True Ohio State fans are being priced out of attending home games
- News
- 0 Replies
Biggest Concern: True Ohio State fans are being priced out of attending home games
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s concerning how expensive Ohio State football tickets have gotten, and relief isn’t coming anytime soon.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Biggest Concerns. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Biggest Concerns here.
The cost of everything continues to rise. While this isn’t breaking news, it is always tough to stomach. Attending an Ohio State football for just one person is expensive enough, I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like for a family of four to attend a Buckeye football game against even just a somewhat decent opponent.
Unfortunately it’s impossible to see the price of Ohio State football tickets doing anything but increasing in the future.
Going to an Ohio State football game shouldn’t be as easy as going to a Miami Hurricanes football game, where you can just show up a couple minutes before a game, plunk down a couple bucks and pretty much get a whole row to yourself just a couple rows from the field.
Going to an Ohio State football game also shouldn’t require taking out a second mortgage on your home. Even though I’m overexaggerating by making those two points, they are closer to reality than we would all like to admit.
The Ohio State athletic department has a tough job when it comes to the price of football tickets. To try and keep them affordable to make sure they are appealing to as many fans as possible, while also trying to maximize profits because expenses are even more out of control now.
Since football is the major breadwinner for the athletic department, Ohio State has to squeeze as much as they can out of every home game to help fund all the other varsity sports at the university. Things are even tougher now because there is also NIL and upgrades that need to be done to Ohio Stadium, which is over 100 years old.
We have already seen a few attempts at adding revenue streams inside Ohio Stadium. Last year the 1922 Club was announced, which will give members a premier gameday destination inside Ohio Stadium. Recently new field level suites in the south end zone were announced, which will force the Ohio State Marching Band to relocate to the north end zone area.
I haven’t seen how much tickets in the new south end zone section will be when they are available starting with the 2026 season, but I imagine they aren’t going to come cheap. “Premium” tickets often are tagged with a dollar amount that includes at least four digits.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26031496/883FE47B_96EE_416F_93C4_1C643FD2A900.jpg)
Tulsa-Ohio State 2021
Back in 2021 I took my mom, step-dad, and friend of mine to the Tulsa game. Since it was my mom and step-dad’s first Buckeye game I didn’t want to skimp on tickets since I was hoping it would be memorable. I ended up purchasing some B Deck tickets in the north end zone and four tickets ended up being around $200 each after ticket fees, taxes, and all those other surcharges we have to deal with these days. That was only for the Tulsa game, which had one of the lowest crowd turnouts at an Ohio State game in the last 50 years.
By comparison, in 2022 I bought two tickets for a Red Sox/Yankees game in the sixth row in right field on a Saturday night in July for about the same amount per ticket. Baseball’s most historic rivalry shouldn’t cost as much as a game where Ohio State hosts Tulsa.
In a perfect world all tickets would be like when I went to a Minnesota Twins game on a Friday night in August 2023, where we sat in “The Dock” which was a section that was a little overhang in right field. Tickets in that section were $40 AND you got a t-shirt! If you wanted to pay $40 to watch an Ohio State football game they’d probably make you sit on top of Morrill Tower.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/26031503/2202747641.jpg "2025 NHL Stadium Series - Detroit Red Wings v Columbus Blue Jackets")
Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images
Earlier this year I went to the Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium where the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Detroit Red Wings. I’m a quarter-season ticket holder for the Blue Jackets, but since this event was at Ohio Stadium the Blue Jackets didn’t really have much to do with ticketing since it was at an Ohio State facility.
Even for C Deck tickets, I paid over $100 each when I purchased them months in advance. Don’t get me wrong, it was definitely worth it since it was a once in a lifetime event, it was just crazy to me to be paying that much to sit in C Deck.
These days it is easier to pass on attending Ohio State football games since the viewing experience is so much better at home. No lines for the bathroom, food and drinks that aren’t ridiculously priced, and I can flip around to other games during commercial breaks and halftime.
I do have a friend that has season tickets who took me to the Indiana game in 2022 and Michigan State game in 2023, and I’ve taken him to Blue Jackets games in those years as a thank you. It’s obvious I’m making out better on the deal since tickets to the Blue Jackets are only a fraction of what he is likely spending for his Ohio State season tickets.
I’m sure I sound like a huge cheapskate but since I’ll soon be turning 40 I’m fully embracing the “get off my lawn” stage of life. Give me a night game and I’d gladly pay hundreds of dollars to see Texas or Penn State this year in Columbus. Unfortunately those are the prices that we’ll likely see for a late afternoon game against Grambling or a night game against Ohio.
When you see those fans that are paying to see the premium games, it’s no wonder why the atmosphere is lacking at Ohio Stadium these days. The crowd consists of more and more rich people who have no interest in making any noise.
Good luck to athletic director Ross Bjork since you have to try and balance ticket prices to maximize profits while also keeping fans happy. At least he has plenty of experience since previously he had to deal with the oil tycoon boosters at Texas A&M before coming to Ohio State.
Bjork has done some creative things so far but they all benefit the upper class of Buckeye fans. For the common fan like you and I, things are going to get worse before they get better when it comes to accessibility to Ohio State football tickets.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s concerning how expensive Ohio State football tickets have gotten, and relief isn’t coming anytime soon.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about our Biggest Concerns. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our Biggest Concerns here.
The cost of everything continues to rise. While this isn’t breaking news, it is always tough to stomach. Attending an Ohio State football for just one person is expensive enough, I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like for a family of four to attend a Buckeye football game against even just a somewhat decent opponent.
Unfortunately it’s impossible to see the price of Ohio State football tickets doing anything but increasing in the future.
Going to an Ohio State football game shouldn’t be as easy as going to a Miami Hurricanes football game, where you can just show up a couple minutes before a game, plunk down a couple bucks and pretty much get a whole row to yourself just a couple rows from the field.
Going to an Ohio State football game also shouldn’t require taking out a second mortgage on your home. Even though I’m overexaggerating by making those two points, they are closer to reality than we would all like to admit.
The Ohio State athletic department has a tough job when it comes to the price of football tickets. To try and keep them affordable to make sure they are appealing to as many fans as possible, while also trying to maximize profits because expenses are even more out of control now.
Since football is the major breadwinner for the athletic department, Ohio State has to squeeze as much as they can out of every home game to help fund all the other varsity sports at the university. Things are even tougher now because there is also NIL and upgrades that need to be done to Ohio Stadium, which is over 100 years old.
We have already seen a few attempts at adding revenue streams inside Ohio Stadium. Last year the 1922 Club was announced, which will give members a premier gameday destination inside Ohio Stadium. Recently new field level suites in the south end zone were announced, which will force the Ohio State Marching Band to relocate to the north end zone area.
I haven’t seen how much tickets in the new south end zone section will be when they are available starting with the 2026 season, but I imagine they aren’t going to come cheap. “Premium” tickets often are tagged with a dollar amount that includes at least four digits.
Tulsa-Ohio State 2021
Back in 2021 I took my mom, step-dad, and friend of mine to the Tulsa game. Since it was my mom and step-dad’s first Buckeye game I didn’t want to skimp on tickets since I was hoping it would be memorable. I ended up purchasing some B Deck tickets in the north end zone and four tickets ended up being around $200 each after ticket fees, taxes, and all those other surcharges we have to deal with these days. That was only for the Tulsa game, which had one of the lowest crowd turnouts at an Ohio State game in the last 50 years.
By comparison, in 2022 I bought two tickets for a Red Sox/Yankees game in the sixth row in right field on a Saturday night in July for about the same amount per ticket. Baseball’s most historic rivalry shouldn’t cost as much as a game where Ohio State hosts Tulsa.
In a perfect world all tickets would be like when I went to a Minnesota Twins game on a Friday night in August 2023, where we sat in “The Dock” which was a section that was a little overhang in right field. Tickets in that section were $40 AND you got a t-shirt! If you wanted to pay $40 to watch an Ohio State football game they’d probably make you sit on top of Morrill Tower.
Earlier this year I went to the Stadium Series game at Ohio Stadium where the Columbus Blue Jackets hosted the Detroit Red Wings. I’m a quarter-season ticket holder for the Blue Jackets, but since this event was at Ohio Stadium the Blue Jackets didn’t really have much to do with ticketing since it was at an Ohio State facility.
Even for C Deck tickets, I paid over $100 each when I purchased them months in advance. Don’t get me wrong, it was definitely worth it since it was a once in a lifetime event, it was just crazy to me to be paying that much to sit in C Deck.
These days it is easier to pass on attending Ohio State football games since the viewing experience is so much better at home. No lines for the bathroom, food and drinks that aren’t ridiculously priced, and I can flip around to other games during commercial breaks and halftime.
I do have a friend that has season tickets who took me to the Indiana game in 2022 and Michigan State game in 2023, and I’ve taken him to Blue Jackets games in those years as a thank you. It’s obvious I’m making out better on the deal since tickets to the Blue Jackets are only a fraction of what he is likely spending for his Ohio State season tickets.
I’m sure I sound like a huge cheapskate but since I’ll soon be turning 40 I’m fully embracing the “get off my lawn” stage of life. Give me a night game and I’d gladly pay hundreds of dollars to see Texas or Penn State this year in Columbus. Unfortunately those are the prices that we’ll likely see for a late afternoon game against Grambling or a night game against Ohio.
When you see those fans that are paying to see the premium games, it’s no wonder why the atmosphere is lacking at Ohio Stadium these days. The crowd consists of more and more rich people who have no interest in making any noise.
Good luck to athletic director Ross Bjork since you have to try and balance ticket prices to maximize profits while also keeping fans happy. At least he has plenty of experience since previously he had to deal with the oil tycoon boosters at Texas A&M before coming to Ohio State.
Bjork has done some creative things so far but they all benefit the upper class of Buckeye fans. For the common fan like you and I, things are going to get worse before they get better when it comes to accessibility to Ohio State football tickets.
Continue reading...
