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2025 tOSU Defense Discussion

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Captain Buckeye said:
I know many hate this hire. I’m willing to see how this plays out before saying much.

We were moving toward a more diverse front and I think this hire accomplishes that move. Also, he’s coached years in the NFL and whether you admit it or not he had some good defense. He wasn’t a great head coach but he’s had success at the highest level as a coordinator.

Finally, I tend to think the NFL coaches more often than not run circles around college coaches when it comes to X and Os. NFL coaches also are use to never having a heavy talent advantage with every week being a battle. So I’d imagine that’ll serve him well vs the better teams.

Where it doesn’t make sense is now it’s a new system and how long is he really going to stay if he does well? So is it worth flipping the system over for 1-2 years?
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I also see this similar to the move(s) Saban would pull with his offenses and defenses.

Bring in a former NFL coach, regardless if they were a HC, OC or DC. Give them the job, let them rebuild their image, then they take back off for greener pastures in 2 season. But those 2 seasons tend to produce a hell of a result.
 
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As much as I liked the results as we were starting from the Coombs wreckage, Knowles' system, and he said it from the beginning, takes three years to fully implement. At some point, you've got to just be jerking yourself with that. Three years? If that's what it takes, then I'd say you have a system problem. Hopefully, as CB said, MP won't bring a complicated Schiano-type pro system and we can get something that spins up a little faster than the Knowles evil genius system.
 
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Captain Buckeye said:
I’m ok with it… I think coaches in the NFL are better than coaches in college. The big thing for Matt with be can he dumb it down to be absorbed by the team.

Last time we had an NFL coach was Schiano and the discussion was how complex his system was. That because it was so tough to learn we couldn’t play fast
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I think the difference in the Schiano situation to the Patricia situations are the HCs of the programs. Day has shown that he will rip a DC a new one if they're not performing(Knowles), and even demote them mid season if need be(Coombs). Meyer had complete blind loyalty to Schiano and let the rift between he and Grinch destroy a very promising season. Imagine if after Minny and IU(even in wins) Meyer had a talking to with the DCs about allowing 400yds to both mediocre teams, the Purdue debacle might not have happened and that's Meyer's 2nd Natty
 
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Captain Buckeye said:
I’m ok with it… I think coaches in the NFL are better than coaches in college. The big thing for Matt with be can he dumb it down to be absorbed by the team.

Last time we had an NFL coach was Schiano and the discussion was how complex his system was. That because it was so tough to learn we couldn’t play fast
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knowles talked about this a lot to give the players time to learn his system.

i’m not sure if it finally worked because the players learned, or because he had a bunch of 2-3 years experience guys this year, or because day forced him to address the rift with johnson… or maybe all three things.

i’m interested to see what patricia can do right off the bat. that’s where i think knowles didn’t quite perform in his first year or two.

EDIT: @RugbyBuck said it… 3 years is a no go these days.
 
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Jaxbuck said:
I was thinking about this and it occurred to me the one consistent thread between 2002,2014 and 2024 were dominant interior DL play.

Lots of other stuff has to be there to win a NC obviously but we never did it with just great DE play or great secondary etc.

Something to consider.
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you make a good point. dominant interior DL play is the key to a disruptive defense. collapsing the point of attack is where all the fun starts.
 
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scarletngray said:
LJ is really high on Moore who is already in the 300 lb range. Hopefully this is his breakout year. Like you, I'm also high on KMac and Houston.
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question is whether LJ will play nice with patricia, and vice versa. and maybe this question is why LJ hasn’t (?) made a final decision what the next couple years mean for him. i didn’t hear anything definitive out of his talk with day a few weeks ago.
 
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shetuck said:
question is whether LJ will play nice with patricia, and vice versa. and maybe this question is why LJ hasn’t (?) made a final decision what the next couple years mean for him. i didn’t hear anything definitive out of his talk with day a few weeks ago.
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LJ has gone through how many DC's in his time at THEE? It's only been a couple days since MP was announced. Sure hope he stays.
 
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shetuck said:
question is whether LJ will play nice with patricia, and vice versa. and maybe this question is why LJ hasn’t (?) made a final decision what the next couple years mean for him. i didn’t hear anything definitive out of his talk with day a few weeks ago.
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I'm thinking with Day fresh off his post Oregon 1 conversation he would just nip that shit in the bud pre hire.

Why would he put himself in that position again?
 
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Jaxbuck said:
I'm thinking with Day fresh off his post Oregon 1 conversation he would just nip that shit in the bud pre hire.

Why would he put himself in that position again?
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it seems now that the ass-kicking was more pointed at knowles, and not LJ. this is backwards from what i first thought - ie telling LJ to play nice with his boss, the DC, and unf*ck his “antiquated” scheme.

so… i’m not sure he solved anything with LJ’s stubbornness. in other words, he’s maybe still in that position of not pissing off LJ.
 
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shetuck said:
it seems now that the ass-kicking was more pointed at knowles, and not LJ. this is backwards from what i first thought - ie telling LJ to play nice with his boss, the DC, and unf*ck his “antiquated” scheme.

so… i’m not sure he solved anything with LJ’s stubbornness. in other words, he’s maybe still in that position of not pissing off LJ.
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I'm thinking he knows going into it that his new DC is going to have to play nice with LJ and therefore he won't subject himself to having to go sort it out again.

I mean let's be real, that nonsense came as close as a thing can come to costing Day one last time and a whole different career trajectory.
 
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Just sayin': Here's what "Our Lads" currently projects as the defense next year:

LDE 92 Curry, Caden SR . Grady, Zion FR 52 Mickens, Joshua RS SO
NT 98 McDonald, Kayden JR 95 Malone Jr., Tywone RS SR/TR 90 Mensah, Eric RS FR
DT 96 Houston, Eddrick SO 94 Moore, Jason RS SO 53 Smith Jr., Will RS SO
RDE 97 Jackson Jr., Kenyatta RS JR . George, Logan JR/TR 55 Kirks, Dominic RS FR
WLB 6 Styles, Sonny SR 11 Hicks, C.J. RS JR . Pettijohn, Riley FR
MLB 20 Reese, Arvell JR 35 Pierce, Payton SO 23 Stover, Garrett SO
LCB 24 Mathews Jr., Jermaine JR 5 Scott Jr., Aaron RS FR 12 West, Bryce SO
SS 18 McClain, Jaylen SO . Delane, Faheem FR
FS 2 Downs, Caleb JR/TR 9 Hartford, Malik JR 16 Nelson Jr., Keenan RS JR/TR
RCB 1 Igbinosun, Davison SR/TR . Sanchez, Devin FR
NB 3 Styles Jr., Lorenzo RS SR/TR 13 Lockhart, Miles RS FR

Obviously transfers, injuries, and/or the play of incoming Freshman could effect the depth chart by 30 Aug 25 (vs Texas). Regardless the loss of Sawyer, Hamilton, Williams, Tuimoloau, Simon, Burke, Ramson, and Hancock leave some "big shoes" to fill for 2025.
 
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Another article on the defense depth chart:

The Ohio State Buckeyes lost significant talent to the 2025 NFL Draft shortly after wrapping up its National Championship-winning season. The 2025 season is quickly becoming the program's focus in the wake of its incredible year. Head coach Ryan Day and his revamped coaching staff will have their work cut out so that they can get a young corps of talent in place.

With a staff still finalizing who will be the new defensive coordinator and the inevitable movement after that announcement, we're projecting the Buckeyes' defensive two-deep entering spring practices.

2025 Ohio State Defensive Depth Chart​

Defensive End​

  • Caden Curry
  • Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
  • Logan George
  • Zion Grady
  • Joshua Mickens
  • Dominic Kirks
The biggest change across the Buckeyes' defense compared to the 2024 unit will come along the defensive line. Veterans JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer accounted for more than 1,300 snaps last season, and primary backups Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry had only 546 snaps between them. It's about time we see these talented backups.

Jackson was let loose as a pass-rusher more and was the more effective player of the two, but Curry is the more stout run defender. This should be a quality duo, and I'd expect the Buckeyes to work in rotations more often. Transfer addition Logan George will battle true freshman Zion Grady and young backups Joshua Mickens and Dominic Kirks.

Defensive Tackle​

  • Kayden McDonald
  • Eddrick Houston
  • Tywone Malone Jr.
  • Jason Moore
  • Will Smith Jr.
  • Eric Mensah
The loss of Hero Kanu to Texas was unexpected and unfortunate for a defensive tackle group that also lacks experience. Kayden McDonald had only 216 snaps in 2024, and Eddrick Houston is transitioning from the end. Both were phenomenal in limited snaps, but they will need to be spelled.

The rest of the defensive line had similar experience as reservists in 2024. This unit isn't exactly young, as McDonald, Malone, Moore, and Smith are each in their third to fifth years. But they're inexperienced and could potentially use a transfer addition to solidify it.

Middle Linebacker​

  • Arvell Reese
  • Payton Pierce
  • Ty Howard
  • Garrett Stover
.
continued
.

Outside Linebacker​

  • Sonny Styles
  • C.J. Hicks
  • Riley Pettijohn
  • Tarvos Alford
.
continued
.

Cornerback​

  • Davison Igbinosun
  • Jermaine Mathews Jr.
  • Devin Sanchez
  • Aaron Scott Jr.
  • Lorenzo Styles Jr.
  • Bryce West
.
continued
.

Safety​

  • Caleb Downs
  • Jaylen McClain
  • Malik Hartford
  • Keenan Nelson Jr.
  • Faheem Delane
.
.
continued
 
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