2020 tOSU Defense

[Bestbuck36]

Front 7 are going to be hellish on teams this year once they get their rhythm going.

If Proctor makes his jump towards Fuller status, the Defense will be championship caliber to go along with what I think will be the nations best Offense.

 

[bukIpower]

Front 7 are going to be hellish on teams this year once they get their rhythm going.

If Proctor makes his jump towards Fuller status, the Defense will be championship caliber to go along with what I think will be the nations best Offense.

I have zero doubt we have the best offense. We are better up front than anyone, have the best QB, best group of TEs, a pretty good RB room, and a very deep WR room.

All just comes down to the defense and in particular through the middle at DT and at Safety.

 

[ScriptOhio]

• On Josh Proctor and Marcus Hooker: "I think they're outstanding players and outstanding young men." He says they're different types of players, which allows Ohio State to "be more multiple."
• "We're really running the same difference." He says they're planning to mainly use one high safety again because "if it's not broke, don't fix it."
• Barnes says Hooker is a "true center fielder" with "freakish ball skills."
• He says he's heard there are comparisons between Marcus and Malik Hooker but didn't coach Malik so he doesn't think he's the best person to ask.
• Barnes says he tries to assist Kerry Coombs as much as he can, and though he's technically the safeties coach, Coombs runs the entire defensive backs room.
• On if the cornerbacks and safeties meet apart or together: "We meet together."
• Barnes says the big thing for Proctor is to consistently get things right day after day and "continue to build small victories" by putting good days on top of good days.
• "I thought as highly of Jordan (Fuller) as I've ever felt of any player." Calls him a "brilliant, brilliant mind." Finding his replacement starts with knowing your own job.
• On the long snapper competition: "So far, so good." Right now, Bradley Robinson is the starter.
• Whether Ohio State can get Hooker and Proctor onto the field together depends on what the offense does, he says. He calls it situational.
• Garrett Wilson, Demario McCall, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cameron Martinez, Xavier Johnson and Chris Olave are among the players getting looks at returner. “Who's it going to be on Saturdays? I'm not ready to tell you that yet.”
• He says Haubeil always has feedback for the other specialists.
• The biggest difference at Ohio State compared to other places he's worked at is the culture.
• Barnes on Hooker and Proctor: “When it comes to physical talent, I don't think there's a shortage of talent for either one.” Said they are “at least as athletic if not more” than Jordan Fuller, but Barnes is still looking for more consistency from them.
• Barnes says he's not ashamed to say he doesn't think he's had an original idea yet in his football coaching career. He always is watching other football to learn.
• He says the offense has "so much talent" with "so many weapons at receiver." None of the receivers are just average, he says.
• Barnes on what he's seen of Ohio State's wide receivers in practices: "I've never seen a receiver corps that is even close to resembling the amount of speed and talent."
• Proctor and Hooker aspire to be "very similar" to Fuller, but you have to be careful not to try to be somebody else, Barnes says.
• Barnes says he charts what the long snappers do in team punt periods, which is where Bradley Robinson shined. "Right now, Brad has been more consistent" than Roen McCullough.
• Cameron Martinez "takes so much pride" in his game. Calls him a "legit tough guy." Says nothing he does that's positive will surprise him.
• He says he thinks as highly of Jonathon Cooper as anyone he's ever been around. "There's a ton of leadership on the defensive side of the ball."

• Hooker says he wanted to maximize himself over the time he had off. People told him he had a chance to play a big role this year.
• Hooker's brother, Malik, told him not to dwell on the negatives or bad days and to persevere.
• "Proc has many things I don't have." He says Proctor's size and closing speed stand out.
• Jordan Fuller was "on top of his film" as well as being a "tremendous athlete." Fuller always told them to be as detailed as possible in the film room.
• On playing under Kerry Coombs and Barnes: "It's been a blast. Even though we get yelled at quite some times."
• Hooker says he's working on becoming more detailed in a bigger role this year.
• He says he and Proctor are "close friends" who shadowed each other and were always with each other when they first got on campus. "He always was just telling me to keep going or don't worry about that play."
• "Everybody's ready to play. Every last person in our position group."
• Hooker says his main mindset is "getting the ball." Says he knows he can tackle, but he's trying to figure out a way to get the ball "any way I can."
• Barnes "sparks the day" whenever he talks to him. He called him "little head" because his head's small and makes him smile.
• He and Malik Hooker try to be in contact as much as they can, but their schedules don't align much.

• He says both he and Hooker relied mainly on their athletic ability when they arrived and Fuller helped them learn the game.
• Fuller was a "quarterback" in the defense who communicated with the cornerbacks well.
• The goal this season: To prove that "Ohio State's here and we haven't went anywhere."
• On the Clemson game: "The plays that I messed up on, I think it motivated me, pushed me a little bit more to prepare."
• Proctor says he gets "a little jittery" back at safety and Barnes wants him to relax a little bit.
• He says he's fine to play any position the Buckeyes need.
• On losing to Clemson: "I go back and watch that game quite a bit." Says he thinks they should have won the game.
• On he and Hooker: "We're both rangy. We're both athletic. We're both smart. We're both instinctual."
• On playing under Coombs: "It's been a lot different. He brings energy [laughs]."
• Proctor says he wants to prove he's here and his name "will be a household name here."
• "I'm a physical guy. I like being physical. I don't care how big you are."
• He says he didn't have much experience playing near the line until recently.

 

[ScriptOhio]

MATT BARNES

ON THE SAFETIES

• "We've got guys who have played in big games and have plenty of experience."
• "We're looking for consistency."
• "There's certainly no shortage of talent at the safety position."
• Barnes said he's eager to see how they play in pressure situations
• "Quite frankly, most of the snaps they've taken have been when the game is already in hand."

ON LATHAN RANSOM AND KOURT WILLIAMS

• "Blown away by both of them, truthfully."
• Barnes said he thinks all the young secondary players are going to be good players.
• Barnes said with the young talent at wide receiver, there's a chance for "iron to sharpen iron."

ON KERRY COOMBS

• Barnes said he thinks Kerry Coombs is one of the greatest DB coaches of all time.
• "It's hard to argue when you look at the success and the guys he's put in the NFL."

 

[ScriptOhio]

Buckeyes on high alert to avoid early-season issues on defense

Some rust is almost certainly unavoidable.

Ohio State players and coaches alike have stressed repeatedly that the only way to truly get into football shape is by playing the game. And even though the program has some of the most famously intense practices in the country and enough talent to turn scrimmages into full-blown competitive battles, there’s still a different level when training camp ends and a real, live opponent is across the line of scrimmage.

That doesn’t mean the Buckeyes are willing to accept any early-season issues when it comes to the basics of tackling, blocking and avoiding turnovers. It does mean that getting up to speed as quickly as possible is a top priority for a College Football Playoff contender, though. And Ohio State does potentially have a few advantages that should allow it to avoid a few of the miscues that have been so common around the country so far this season.

Offensively, there really shouldn’t be any question about what Ohio State can do with Justin Fields returning behind perhaps the country’s best offensive line with an overflowing cupboard of skill positions available to him. Defensively, if even Alabama is struggling to get off the field, it’s fair to wonder if the Buckeyes will go through any similar stretches. But there are advantages for Ohio State there as well.

For one, the Buckeyes have been watching games for the last month and a half and have been watching plenty of clips that reinforce the importance of every fundamental tackling drill in every workout. Second, they’ve got a veteran corps of linebackers that can get everybody right schematically and ranks as one of the surest tackling units in the country. And third, with a full training camp and daily testing in place, the Buckeyes likely had the benefit of keeping more available players on the field for practice while the rest of the teams already playing dealt with contact-tracing issues.

Now, that doesn’t guarantee anything ahead of the opener next weekend against Nebraska. But the Buckeyes should at least be well prepared to avoid those early missteps.

“Having an emphasis on pad-level, tackling, I think those are critically important,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “It’s more than just tackling. It’s guys running to the football and being in great shape and playing on contact strong. It’s all things that we’re bringing up on a weekly basis, showing them clips and hopefully we’ll learn from what’s been out there.”

Entire article: https://lettermenrow.com/ohio-state...-defense-training-camp-tackling-fundamentals/

 

[bukIpower]

Very anxious about the DT spot. You have to hope Haskel can come back and play sometime soon if not within these first 2 weeks.

PED is really going to test this run defense and I hadn't realized but Nebraska returns all 5 up front and their RB.

Luckily we will be really really hard to slow down on offense so teams will be forced to try and throw the ball.

I wonder if there's any OL kids being considered to move for a year to DT such as Matthew Jones who I think started off here at DT first? Just need a few reps a game to give Tommy and Jackson some plays off.

Really anxious though in general for this defense as Coombs also hasn't coordinated before so we don't know what that looks like.

I wouldn't be surprised if we win these first two games more so like 52-28 or something like that but I really do hope we can hit the ground running like last season.

 

[MGMT]

Very anxious about the DT spot. You have to hope Haskel can come back and play sometime soon if not within these first 2 weeks.

PED is really going to test this run defense and I hadn't realized but Nebraska returns all 5 up front and their RB.

Luckily we will be really really hard to slow down on offense so teams will be forced to try and throw the ball.

I wonder if there's any OL kids being considered to move for a year to DT such as Matthew Jones who I think started off here at DT first? Just need a few reps a game to give Tommy and Jackson some plays off.

Really anxious though in general for this defense as Coombs also hasn't coordinated before so we don't know what that looks like.

I wouldn't be surprised if we win these first two games more so like 52-28 or something like that but I really do hope we can hit the ground running like last season.

If you felt optimistic perhaps a means of addressing the latter would be that Barnes seems to be learning quite a bit from Coombs and although he’s coaching the safeties it’s important to note that they’re all in the same meeting room and in the same spot on the practice field. He knows how Coombs wants the corners operating so he should be able to help Coombs help with focusing on the in-game defensive play calls.

don’t forget there’s also Mattison. Dude know how to call a defense if need be so it isn’t as Coombs can radio in and be like yo boss what the fuck do I do here? There’s a reason Mattison doesn’t have heavy recruiting responsibility. He helps with everything defensively. At the very least, he’ll have excellent support. Day will also likely allow him room to “figure it out” since he seems to empower and not meddle. Your concern is absolutely warranted but there’s also reason to have a really positive outlook (not saying you don’t have one).

 

[bukIpower]

If you felt optimistic perhaps a means of addressing the latter would be that Barnes seems to be learning quite a bit from Coombs and although he’s coaching the safeties it’s important to note that they’re all in the same meeting room and in the same spot on the practice field. He knows how Coombs wants the corners operating so he should be able to help Coombs help with focusing on the in-game defensive play calls.

don’t forget there’s also Mattison. Dude know how to call a defense if need be so it isn’t as Coombs can radio in and be like yo boss what the fuck do I do here? There’s a reason Mattison doesn’t have heavy recruiting responsibility. He helps with everything defensively. At the very least, he’ll have excellent support. Day will also likely allow him room to “figure it out” since he seems to empower and not meddle. Your concern is absolutely warranted but there’s also reason to have a really positive outlook (not saying you don’t have one).

I'd say cautiously optimistic.... we lost a lot of really good football players in defense but we are still talented. I also think it has more to do with who we open with for the first two weeks too. If it were Rutgers and Maryland I'd have no concerns.

 

[Systems_id]

I haven’t been keeping up but what’s up with the DT situation. Last year we were worried about DE while giddy in regards to DT. I know about Garrett but it seemed like his injury wasn’t that serious? Is Vincent still out as well?

 

[MGMT]

I haven’t been keeping up but what’s up with the DT situation. Last year we were worried about DE while giddy in regards to DT. I know about Garrett but it seemed like his injury was that serious? Is Vincent still out as well?

Seems like Tarim Vincent is still banged up or healing; not sure which is the case but it seems though he hasn’t been active.

 

[ScriptOhio]

RYAN DAY SEES OHIO STATE'S LINEBACKERS AS “PROBABLY THE STRENGTH OF THE DEFENSE” AHEAD OF SEASON

At all three levels of Ohio State’s defense, Kerry Coombs and Greg Mattison have to trust first-year starters. The mass exodus of NFL draftees in the offseason requires them to do so.

Yet at the second level, where the Buckeyes lost Malik Harrison yet return two starters – Pete Werner and Tuf Borland – to bolster a corps of seven upperclassman linebackers, head coach Ryan Day feels comfortable with the guys who position coach Al Washington has prepared.

“I would say, right now, that's probably the strength of the defense,” Ryan Day said. “But both of the other groups are working really hard – the D-line and the back end – and those units are getting stronger every day. I'm fired up to see what this looks like on Saturday.”

In recent years, neither Day nor Urban Meyer could have credibly claimed the linebackers as the defense’s top unit. Not even a little bit. In fact, each of the past couple of seasons, they were largely viewed as lesser than both the defensive line – where Chase Young and a number of other impact players reigned – and the secondary, which has continued to pop out first-round NFL draft picks.

In 2018, a combination of youth and poor development from Billy Davis led to a subpar season at linebacker. With Washington leading the room, they took a significant step forward last year while still generally thought of as less integral to a stout defense’s success than the line or secondary.

This fall, more than any recent season, the Buckeyes must rely on their veteran group of linebackers to lead the way for an otherwise youth-laden, inexperience-filled defense.

“I'm really impressed with the way the linebackers, just as a whole unit, have just done a great job of communicating, diagnosing plays, seeing things, running to the football,” Day said. “They're just a very professional group of guys, in my opinion.”

That’s an apt description for a unit bolstered by so many juniors and seniors.

All three projected starters – Werner, Borland and Baron Browning – are fourth-years and fifth-years who’ve played extensively for the Buckeyes in past seasons and will be counted on for even more in 2020. Justin Hilliard, a sixth-year senior, will supplement Browning at strongside linebacker. Additionally, a familiar trio of juniors – Teradja Mitchell, Dallas Gant and K’Vaughan Pope – allow Washington and Mattison the flexibility to put together any number of linebacker groups onto the field that they’d like.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...y-the-strength-of-the-defense-ahead-of-season

 

[ScriptOhio]

GREG MATTISON

ON EXCITEMENT FOR THE GAME

• "You've had so much time and you've worked so hard..."
• "You can't imagine what they've gone through and how proud of them we are."
• Mattison said he's excited to finally see the work on the field.

ON THE PASS RUSH

• "I think we have a combination of people."
• Mattison mentions that he doesn't think there are a lot of teams that have five defensive ends like Ohio State.
• "I'm excited to watch them."
• "I think we have some linebackers that can really run – linebackers that can help us in that respect."

ON TUF BORLAND'S IMPROVEMENT

• "Having seen him this year compared to last year, I think he's a totally different guy."
• "Hilliard is the same way."
• Mattison said it takes a long time to fully recover from an Achilles injury. He Borland is "really running well."

ON THE DEFENSIVE STAFF

• "It makes coming into work really, really fun every day."
• "I'm so excited about Kerry working with us."
• "It's really fun not to have to work against him," Mattison joked about his years working for Michigan."
• "It's really great to come into work each day with these guys."

ON THE THE SECONDARY

• "They played behind two first-rounders, three that are starting in the NFL. It's amazing."
• "I think they really want to show everybody that they are the next group."

 

[ScriptOhio]

A year ago, Ohio State was working with an almost entirely new defensive staff. With Ryan Day taking over from Urban Meyer, and attempting to fix a group that underperformed the season prior, the head coach made four new hires on the defensive side of the ball.

It worked. The Buckeyes finished the year with the top-ranked total defense in the country, allowing just 259.7 yards per game. The additions of co-defensive coordinators Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison, as well as Al Washington as linebackers coach and Matt Barnes as linebackers coach gelled quickly with each other and the already established defensive line coach Larry Johnson and got the Scarlet and Gray back to playing sound defense.

This year is different. Only Hafley is gone from the staff, meaning there is a sense of continuity on the defensive side of the ball. But Hafley was a big piece of the puzzle that resulted in defensive success.

Day replaced Hafley with a familiar name to Ohio State fans in Kerry Coombs, bringing him back to the Buckeyes from the Tennessee Titans. While this isn’t a major change in terms of numbers, like the Scarlet and Gray had a year ago, going from Hafley to Coombs does take some getting used to on the defensive side of the ball.

What makes the transition easier is that the Ohio State defense is set. Coombs, as the defensive coordinator, is just there to enhance it.

“The thing about it is he (Coombs) brings us some different ways of playing defense, but we still have our defense,” Mattison explained this week ahead of the Buckeyes’ opener against Nebraska. “We still do what Ohio State does. And I think the fact that all of our staff works so closely together and we’re all in this thing together I think has been a really good transition.”

Ohio State’s defense was built in a smart way. Day took what he already had in Johnson, arguably the best defensive line coach in the country, and added a young linebackers coach in Washington. He then brought in Mattison, who was given the title of co-defensive coordinator but specializes in the front seven, to add his experience to the front of the defense.

Hafley was an exciting up-and-coming coach with a lot of prospects, but his experience was either as a defensive backs or secondary coach. Day assisted Hafley with Barnes who spent most of his coaching career working on special teams but has an eye for and understanding of the back end of the defense.

When Hafley became the head coach at Boston College after just one season, Day knew he needed someone who understood the secondary to step into that spot. Coombs, who spent the last 13 years coaching defensive backs in some capacity, including as the cornerbacks coach at Ohio State from 2012-16, was the perfect man to fill that void.

“What happens when you have a great coaching staff, I think everybody has an input,” Mattison explained. “Kerry’s done such a great job of bringing in some of the things he’s been through over the years, his demeanor, everything like that. And then with our coaching staff, all of us working together, it’s been great.”

 

[ScriptOhio]

 

[pnuts34]

I think the back 7 will be practicing defending crossing routes all week, because I have a feeling teams will be utilizing that play all year to find weaknesses