2019 tOSU Defense (Official Thread)

[ScriptOhio]

Jeff Hafley Not Interested in Predictable Cornerback Play

“We’re a press-man team.”

Those words have been spoken by Ohio State defensive coaches since 2014 when Urban Meyer hired Chris Ash to fix his defense.

Having been broken again, it was Ryan Day’s turn to bring in a new defensive staff to fix the Buckeyes. Day went out and hired Jeff Hafley and Matt Barnes to handle the secondary and added Greg Mattison and Al Washington to the front seven with Larry Johnson.

Much has been written about the plans for the Ohio State defensive scheme. It will be simplified. It will be aggressive. And it cannot possibly be any worse than it was a year ago.

Every level of the defense will be undergoing changes, including a group of cornerbacks who have only ever known press-man coverage.

While that experience will help them, there will be more coverages to learn because Hafley isn’t interested in offenses knowing what is coming from play to play.

Against offenses with multiple ways to attack, giving them a predictable look in the back seven seems more like a favor than anything else.

The Buckeyes will still press, but they’ll be doing other things from time to time as well.

“I think that we are still going to press people,” Hafley said. “I totally believe in pressing, especially in man-situations, especially with some of the guys that we have that are really long and very talented. I just think that you have to mix things up. I think you have to give corners the ability to zone off and be able to play off the quarterback to try and go make some plays rather than just being in man all the time.”

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2019/06/jeff-hafley-predictable-cornerback-play/

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[ScriptOhio]

How Many Defensive Packages Are Too Many For Buckeyes?

Every defense is made of separate defenses.

You know base, nickel, dime, goal line, and packages like that, but every defense also has other bells and whistles that they rely on.

The question of just how many packages is the right number can be different for every team. It’s a matter of personnel, time, teaching, and necessity.

There is no ideal number, according to Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. Generally, it comes down to feel and communication from the entire defensive staff.

“You get a great feeling and our staff has a lot of experience, so what will end up happening is it looks really good to Jeff and I, or Al and I, and then all of a sudden Larry goes, ‘that’s a little much,’ and pretty soon you go ‘Okay, that’s good. Let’s bring this thing back a little bit,'” Mattison explained.

“In the back of your mind though, I know I feel personally we’ve got very talented players. Let’s let them play. Let’s not confuse them and have them have the thing where during a game they’re looking over, looking for the call. As a coordinator, that’s always been something I have nightmares of. When you look over there and the guys are going, ‘Just give me the call,’ you go, ‘Oh man I’m really making it hard on this guy.’ You don’t want to do that.”

Fellow co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is on the same page. His preference is to find a set number of alignments, and then find roles in those packages for the players.

Rather than teaching 10 different defenses, he’d rather teach fewer, but give players opportunities to find a place in those packages where they can thrive.

“I was around some systems when there were like 10 packages in a game. I think that’s too many,” Hafley said. “What I think is important that we do is that players that deserve to play and have proven they deserve to play – they’re doing all the right things in the weight room, in school, off the field and on the field – I think you can create simple packages and just plug in a guy to have a role.

“I think the more guys have a role on the team the more ownership they’ll have and the more they’ll feel a part of it. t think that’s really good for a football team and really good for a defense.”

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2019/07/many-defensive-packages-buckeyes/

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[ScriptOhio]

TUF BORLAND “BEING PUSHED” BY TERADJA MITCHELL AT MIDDLE LINEBACKER WITH OHIO STATE'S PRESEASON CAMP NEARING

College football players who become team captains as underclassmen rarely lose that title.

J.T. Barrett didn’t. His Ohio State teammates voted him as a captain prior to the 2015 season, and the starting quarterback remained in the role the next two seasons. In 2017 as a redshirt senior, he became the first three-year captain in program history. Almost as much as anything he did on the field, he’ll be remembered for his contributions as a leader.

Tuf Borland will likely join Barrett as the second Buckeye ever to be a three-year captain. He was one of the team’s seven captains a year ago, and it’s highly unlikely he leaves early for the NFL, meaning he’ll most likely be a team captain for both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Even though his leadership isn’t a question, his status as a starter remains uncertain.

“Tuf Borland played a lot for us last year and he's being pushed,” Ryan Day said on Thursday. “He's being pushed by Teradja Mitchell.”

Nobody on Ohio State’s defense drew as much criticism from the fan base as Borland last year.

Playing in the middle of a defense that allowed more than 400 yards per game and was more susceptible to giving up big plays than almost any other team in the country, his lack of speed and agility was evident to opponents who targeted him. He struggled when playing in space against spread offenses that wanted to force him to make plays away from the line of scrimmage.

Even though Borland suffered an offseason Achilles injury, he rushed back to action, and former linebackers coach Billy Davis stuck with him throughout the difficulties of the 2018 season. He started 11 of 14 games and accumulated 67 tackles, the third-most on the team.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...acker-with-ohio-states-preseason-camp-nearing

 

[ScriptOhio]

Football: Fuller says improved communication will factor into defensive redemption

In 2011, Ohio State had its lowest win total in 23 years.

In 2018, Ohio State gave up the most yards per game of any defense in program history.

Those were the only seasons since 2004 that an Ohio State defensive back, rather than a linebacker, led the team in tackles.

At the 2019 Big Ten Media Day, Ohio State senior safety and this past season’s tied leader in tackles Jordan Fuller said his uptick in takedowns may point to a flawed defense.

“The kinds of tackles I was making weren’t the best, and they weren’t highlight plays, so it wasn’t great for us,” Fuller said. “I would much rather lower my tackles than have the team suffer.”

However, Fuller said the new scheme, courtesy of four new coaches on defense, has inspired more confidence, swagger and speed — and less thinking — amid the Buckeye secondary heading into this season.

Fuller said this past season’s scheme often led to confusion between players when a coverage would be completely changed during pre-snap reads. He said the confusion led to distrust between teammates, which allowed for teams to make big plays against a historically stout Buckeye defense.

In Ohio State’s 52-51 overtime win against Maryland in 2018, the Buckeyes allowed then-redshirt freshman running back Anthony McFarland to go for 298 yards on 21 carries. Fuller pinpointed that game as a particularly low point for the Buckeye secondary.

“It was just really frustrating. Definitely you heard the ‘We’re better than this. We have to tighten everything up.’ But it just gets frustrating and things just kept happening. It was bad vibes all around. It wasn’t fun.”

With the addition of first-year Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who also serves as the Buckeyes’ secondary coach, Fuller said a few changes have made significant differences in execution.

The safety and cornerback rooms have been combined, which Fuller said has vastly improved communication and understanding between the positions. Fuller said last season his attempts to call out changed coverages to senior cornerback Jeffrey Okudah would go unheard or create confusion, but now with more time spent together, the pair have developed nonverbal signals to utilize during games.

Fuller added that last year it was his duty to make the majority of calls on defense, but this season the linebackers will be shouldering more of that responsibility, freeing him up to play naturally rather than overthink.

Without a single senior at defensive back this past season, Fuller said the youth of the secondary was another factor that led to defensive issues.

Now Fuller joins cornerback Damon Arnette as the only seniors at defensive back, and head coach Ryan Day said Thursday that he has high hopes for Fuller’s final season.

“[Fuller] makes the right calls, he’s intelligent, and he’s productive, so he’s a guy that we’re expecting big things from,” Day said. “And I keep saying that the veteran guys have to play verteran. He’s one of those guys.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2019/07/...cation-will-factor-into-defensive-redemption/

 

[scarletngray]

TUF BORLAND “BEING PUSHED” BY TERADJA MITCHELL AT MIDDLE LINEBACKER WITH OHIO STATE'S PRESEASON CAMP NEARING

College football players who become team captains as underclassmen rarely lose that title.

J.T. Barrett didn’t. His Ohio State teammates voted him as a captain prior to the 2015 season, and the starting quarterback remained in the role the next two seasons. In 2017 as a redshirt senior, he became the first three-year captain in program history. Almost as much as anything he did on the field, he’ll be remembered for his contributions as a leader.

Tuf Borland will likely join Barrett as the second Buckeye ever to be a three-year captain. He was one of the team’s seven captains a year ago, and it’s highly unlikely he leaves early for the NFL, meaning he’ll most likely be a team captain for both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Even though his leadership isn’t a question, his status as a starter remains uncertain.

“Tuf Borland played a lot for us last year and he's being pushed,” Ryan Day said on Thursday. “He's being pushed by Teradja Mitchell.”

Nobody on Ohio State’s defense drew as much criticism from the fan base as Borland last year.

Playing in the middle of a defense that allowed more than 400 yards per game and was more susceptible to giving up big plays than almost any other team in the country, his lack of speed and agility was evident to opponents who targeted him. He struggled when playing in space against spread offenses that wanted to force him to make plays away from the line of scrimmage.

Even though Borland suffered an offseason Achilles injury, he rushed back to action, and former linebackers coach Billy Davis stuck with him throughout the difficulties of the 2018 season. He started 11 of 14 games and accumulated 67 tackles, the third-most on the team.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...acker-with-ohio-states-preseason-camp-nearing

It's unfortunate that things haven't seemed to click with Browning. Hard to figure.

 

[bucknut502]

It's unfortunate that things haven't seemed to click with Browning. Hard to figure.

He’s been out of position. They’ve had him inside and he should be outside. He and Harrison would be a nice OLB duo.

 

[bukIpower]

He’s been out of position. They’ve had him inside and he should be outside. He and Harrison would be a nice OLB duo.

I wonder if Browning could be an end? He's basically the size of Thad Gibson anyways.

 

[scarletngray]

He’s been out of position. They’ve had him inside and he should be outside. He and Harrison would be a nice OLB duo.

Last year's D coaches and this year's D coaches seem sold on Werner. Werner has been the one guy Mattison has given the most praise to. I think Browning could be a great MLB but also have to wonder if last year's scheme really slowed down his progress. It was mind blowing to see Borland limping around chasing after guys with Browning on the bench. Now he seems to have been bypassed by Mitchell.

 

[ScriptOhio]

Ryan Day Knows Exactly What He Wants In a Defense

When Ryan Day took over the Ohio State football program, he began retooling the team in his image.

Ironically, however, the image that may most resemble Day as a coach right now is the defensive side of the ball.

His only hire on offense was Mike Yurcich as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Yurcich’s job is to replace Day and get the quarterbacks ready for next month’s game and beyond.

Defensively, Day had to make changes in the back seven, and he didn’t hold back. He now has two coaches for the linebackers and two coaches for the secondary.

Five defensive assistants. One page.

“In putting the staff together, I wanted to make sure we had a staff that could solve the problems themselves,” Day said. “I know that as an offensive coach, some of the best environments I’ve been in are when I’ve been able to solve the problems on my own. You want to make sure you’re doing things the way you want to do them. Between Greg Mattison, Larry Johnson, Jeff Hafley, Al Washington and Matt Barnes, there’s so much experience in that room, I believe in them that they’re going to solve the issues that come up, because there will be issues that come up.”

Day knows what he wants from his defense, which is why he has assistant coaches who he believes will make it happen.

But he won’t be entirely hands off.

“There are times I’ll stick my head in there and say, ‘Have you looked at this?’ Sometimes you can’t see the trees in the forest. ‘Hey, in August camp we’re going to attack you in this formation because you’re a little short over here,’ or ‘You’re giving away this blitz because this linebacker is doing this.’ Those are the things I help them with, general ideas as opposed to specifics.”

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2019/07/ryan-day-knows-exactly-wants-defense/

 

[ScriptOhio]

No More Bosas No Problem for Buckeyes?

For the first time since Urban Meyer’s first season at Ohio State in 2012, there isn’t a Bosa listed on the Buckeyes’ official football roster.

The OSU defense got accustomed to the absence a year early, of course, following Nick Bosa’s season-ending injury last year in the third game of the season.

The Buckeyes never really recovered from the loss. Bosa was arguably the best player in the nation and had a defense designed to put him in position to make life terrible for opposing offenses.

To make matters worse, depth was an issue at defensive end for Ohio State. They had just lost Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, and Sam Hubbard to the NFL. Their replacements were four true freshmen, two of whom redshirted.

Defensive tackle Jashon Cornell was moved to defensive end in the spring just so the Buckeyes wouldn’t have to rely on the freshmen too much. Once Bosa went down, however, that all went out the window.

This year, things are different.

Veterans Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper are back, and last year’s four freshmen are much further along than they were a year ago.

Sophomores Tyler Friday and Tyreke Smith played quite a bit last year, but the production wasn’t where it needed to be. That’s expected for freshmen, which is why coaches don’t want to have to rely on them. This year, the learning curve needs to become a much straighter line, and the expectation is that it will.

Redshirt freshmen Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Alex Williams didn’t see the field last year, but found some footing. Jean-Baptiste was one of the most impressive defensive ends on the Ohio State roster this spring.

Last year, freshmen like Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday had to play because there was no depth. This year, freshmen Zach Harrison and Noah Potter will have a much harder climb to the field. While both are talented, so are the players ahead of them.

This depth — while still mostly unproven — is reminiscent of what the Buckeyes had back in 2016 and 2017 when four defensive ends — Hubbard, Lewis, Holmes, and Bosa — would rotate evenly and terrorize offensive lines for four long quarters. (And sometimes even an overtime or two.)

In fact, Jonathon Cooper thinks the Ohio State defense could return to that model.

“I think so. There’s no reason why we can’t and no reason why we shouldn’t,” he said. “We have the talent, we have the guys and we have the depth, so we just need guys to play.”

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2019/07/no-bosas-no-problem-buckeyes/

Re: No More Bosas

Hey, John & Cheryl Bosa.......

We want MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!!

 

[bukIpower]

No More Bosas No Problem for Buckeyes?

For the first time since Urban Meyer’s first season at Ohio State in 2012, there isn’t a Bosa listed on the Buckeyes’ official football roster.

The OSU defense got accustomed to the absence a year early, of course, following Nick Bosa’s season-ending injury last year in the third game of the season.

The Buckeyes never really recovered from the loss. Bosa was arguably the best player in the nation and had a defense designed to put him in position to make life terrible for opposing offenses.

To make matters worse, depth was an issue at defensive end for Ohio State. They had just lost Tyquan Lewis, Jalyn Holmes, and Sam Hubbard to the NFL. Their replacements were four true freshmen, two of whom redshirted.

Defensive tackle Jashon Cornell was moved to defensive end in the spring just so the Buckeyes wouldn’t have to rely on the freshmen too much. Once Bosa went down, however, that all went out the window.

This year, things are different.

Veterans Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper are back, and last year’s four freshmen are much further along than they were a year ago.

Sophomores Tyler Friday and Tyreke Smith played quite a bit last year, but the production wasn’t where it needed to be. That’s expected for freshmen, which is why coaches don’t want to have to rely on them. This year, the learning curve needs to become a much straighter line, and the expectation is that it will.

Redshirt freshmen Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Alex Williams didn’t see the field last year, but found some footing. Jean-Baptiste was one of the most impressive defensive ends on the Ohio State roster this spring.

Last year, freshmen like Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday had to play because there was no depth. This year, freshmen Zach Harrison and Noah Potter will have a much harder climb to the field. While both are talented, so are the players ahead of them.

This depth — while still mostly unproven — is reminiscent of what the Buckeyes had back in 2016 and 2017 when four defensive ends — Hubbard, Lewis, Holmes, and Bosa — would rotate evenly and terrorize offensive lines for four long quarters. (And sometimes even an overtime or two.)

In fact, Jonathon Cooper thinks the Ohio State defense could return to that model.

“I think so. There’s no reason why we can’t and no reason why we shouldn’t,” he said. “We have the talent, we have the guys and we have the depth, so we just need guys to play.”

Entire article: https://theozone.net/2019/07/no-bosas-no-problem-buckeyes/

Re: No More Bosas

Hey, John & Cheryl Bosa.......

We want MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!! ... MORE BOSAS!!!!

What if... both Joey and Nick have 2 sons each and we have an entire DL named Bosa?

 

[UpNorth_Buckeye]

I wonder if Browning could be an end? He's basically the size of Thad Gibson anyways.

If I'm a 3-4 defense in the NFL, I have him earmarked as a late round steal. I think he could be a great outside linebacker in a 3-4.

Edit: having said that, for OSU I could see him being a 4th year bloomer that we see sometimes and him seamlessly replacing Malik Harrison in 2020. At least that's my hope.