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Team | DL with 200-plus snaps |
---|---|
No. 1 Michigan | 8 |
No. 2 Washington | 8 |
No. 3 Texas | 9 |
No. 4 Alabama | 7 |
No. 5 Florida State | 8 |
No. 6 Georgia | 9 |
No. 7 Oregon | 10 |
No. 8 Ohio State | 5 |
No. 9 Missouri | 7 |
No. 10 Penn State | 8 |
3. Larry Johnson is still the best defensive line recruiter in the country.
Larry Johnson (Photo by © Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK)
Birmingham: FICTION. I am saying fiction here not because Larry Johnson isn’t doing a great job for Ohio State – he is – but simply because I believe that there are some younger defensive line coaches who have adapted to today’s technology-driven recruiting world a bit easier than Johnson has and have done as good a job developing NFL prospects in the last few years.
That said, when Johnson gets a chance to connect with a young person in Columbus, it’s clear that his style is still resonating in a major way. Yes, it’s an old-school approach but it’s also so different than what most are doing that it stands out to recruits.
Johnson is a teacher in the best sense of the word and his ability to break down film, technique and to provide instant feedback for recruits on their game is a differentiator when players are on campus. He’s a legend in the recruiting world for a reason and is still unequivocally one of the best in the country.
It does feel as though there’s been a reinvigoration recently and some of that credit goes to assistant LaAllan Clark and of course, NIL opportunities which have untied his hands in recruitments that used to be unfair fights.
Spiegelman: FICTION. Larry Johnson has as good or better of a track record than most, if not all, of college football's defensive line coaches. Johnson's resume paired with NFL draftees he helped mold and the current 2025 commitments as well as the elite DL that are already leaning toward the Buckeyes because of Johnson -- speaks for itself.
Georgia has been producing NFL defensive linemen under Tray Scott for years, and no team is recruiting in the trenches better right now than the Dawgs. Bo Davis has been sculpting DL to play on Sundays at Alabama, Texas and now LSU, and he's been attracting big talent to Baton Rouge. Likewise, Clemson's Nick Eason and Oklahoma's Todd Bates have resumes as good as any position coach nationwide.
Freddie Roach has helped assemble elite defensive fronts in Tuscaloosa and Oxford, and is considered one of the best young DL coaches in America. The same goes for Randall Joyner, a Texas native, now overseeing the Ole Miss defensive front, which is expected to be one of the best in the nation this fall.
GPA!Ramzy from the top rope....
OPENER | EVERYWHERE THAT LARRY WENT
Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson motions to players during the spring football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on April 16, 2022. © Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / IMAGN Network
I started business school when the financial crisis began and finished it after it had ended. My day job boss at the time had gotten an MBA 15 years earlier. After I graduated, he told me, "congratulations - we have the same papers but completely different degrees."
He was right. When he was in school, Sarbanes-Oxley didn't exist and financial reporting was a different sport than it became. Business Ethics wasn't required curriculum. My 600-level finance classes had us stripping apart collateralized debt obligations into individual toxic mortgage-backed securities they were built upon to see and understand how all the chaos unfolded.
Since my broken brain is adhered to college football, I think about that whenever Larry Johnson trots out four down linemen to rush the passer the exact same way he taught LaVar Arrington to at Penn State 27 football seasons ago.
The sport has changed quite a bit. He has not, nor has he ever been forced to adapt.
Ohio State has so much seasoned superstar talent that it might be hard to understand how the defensive coordinator and defensive line coach cannot align on a unified strategy. Johnson runs defensive line operations with a degree of tenure which shouldn't be permissible in a top-down organization.
On Saturday night with Oregon in the red zone and in short yardage, Tyliek Williams - by far, Ohio State's best lineman (disclosure, he's no.1 in my Buckeye 20 ballot) was on the sideline. Johnson's rotations and formations are often in conflict with Jim Knowles' scheme. It's been an open secret since Day hired him to run the defense after 2021.
We're into a third season of wondering what The Jack does and if the queen on Knowles' chessboard will ever be allowed to make its debut in Columbus.
Knowles earned his way to Columbus via the monster he was able to construct in Stillwater with talent Ohio State would never consider recruiting. But he's never been able to bring the now-mythical Jack position into the Ohio State program because, well, that encroaches on the defensive line's plans.
And that has its own boss. In shitty Corporate America parallels, mediocre department heads often tell others to stay in their own lane whenever their effectiveness is being questioned cross-functionally. That appears to be what's happening at the Woody.
This kind of insubordination-adjacent behavior would be fine if the defensive line didn't completely vaporize in big games. A decade ago, Ohio State's rushmen walked off opponents with sacks. Unfortunately, the factory where Bosas are manufactured has run dry and there's only ever been one Chase Young.
A decade later, Johnson's unit is food for capable offensive lines. No one in his room made a single play in Eugene that you can remember. They only helped contribute to the number of plays the Ducks made that you're still having troubling quantifying.
Burke had the worst night of his life, but that was made possible because covering any receiver for seven seconds is impossible. His nightmare was aided and abetted by a quarterback given seven seconds of comfort to make an unbothered pass.
Talent can be a detriment, which is why Ohio State might be able to dig out of its OL predicament through the necessity of creativity, urgency and crisis management. Johnson's unit demonstrates none of that. All those 5-star guys, why bother with deception or creativity?
Preparing for The Rushmen is an exercise in simplicity - offensive lines know exactly what they'll see on Saturdays. They just have to be good enough to handle it, and - brace yourself - the teams beating the Buckeyes generally have those types of players available.
But this impasse and chronic stagnation is not Johnson's or Knowles' fault. You have to look further up the org chart to see who's to blame, and to that guy's credit he finally made some CEO moves during the offseason which were long overdue. He executed the easy and obvious ones, like removing nepo babies and unqualified baristas from the payroll.
He declined to act on the harder issues, or at least this one. Johnson is a legend, and his Ohio State tenure will conclude when the clock runs out on his contract in 2026. In the meantime, perhaps something should be done about his unit's performance in what critics call talent-equated games.
We're into a third season of wondering what The Jack does and if the queen on Knowles' chessboard will ever be allowed to make its debut in Columbus. There's exactly one reason why it hasn't yet, and his picture is atop this section.
As for what Day should do about it, this is not a new lesson in staff management only a modern coaching curriculum would teach. People management principles are timeless. If you're Ohio State's head coach, you shouldn't allow a one-day impasse to become a three-season crisis.
You're the boss. You get to decide, and indecision isn't a decision.
THE SITUATIONAL: October Surprise
Despite losing at Oregon, the Buckeyes are in position to accomplish every goal which kept 11 NFL Draft-eligible players on campus for another season. But will Ohio State's coaches allow that to happen?www.elevenwarriors.com
Sigh, I think it's too late honestly. Until he leaves anyway. Do you actually think Day would fire LJ? Hell no he woudn't even fire Fleming! Chase Young was the worst thing that could have happened to Larry. He would have gone on by now but when the predator walks into your locker room and instantly raises every bar you have, you try to duplicate the feat in the next one, and the next one. It aint happening and even if it did, the Defense would still suffer because the other guys who need coached up just aren't getting it. Jack Sawyer could have been the next one but he took a year of bickering between coaches to even get the right position plans down. Then JT came in with all of this athleticism, kicked ass, then just went backwards.I wasn't in the LJ camp when this hire was made.....as I'm sure this thread will attest. I 100% held a grudge because of non-football reasons. Namely, fuck Penn State. Also buried somewhere in this thread is my semi-apology which is really more of an "ok you can stay". Again, not because of football reasons, but sentimental reasons related to my dad passing. All that is to say I was never in the LJ is god camp, even during the Bosa and Chase Young years.
However, this article by @Ramzy is the first time I'm doubting the man as a football Xs and Os guy. Yes, there have been LOUD whispers about how him and Knowles don't mesh. I attributed them to our often whiney fanbase who thinks we should have 4 Chase Youngs at our disposal every year. But if Ramzy is saying it....I'm listening. Figure it out, Coach Day. Quickly.
Did he fire Coombs, Barnes and Eliano?Sigh, I think it's too late honestly. Until he leaves anyway. Do you actually think Day would fire LJ? Hell no he woudn't even fire Fleming! Chase Young was the worst thing that could have happened to Larry. He would have gone on by now but when the predator walks into your locker room and instantly raises every bar you have, you try to duplicate the feat in the next one, and the next one. It aint happening and even if it did, the Defense would still suffer because the other guys who need coached up just aren't getting it. Jack Sawyer could have been the next one but he took a year of bickering between coaches to even get the right position plans down. Then JT came in with all of this athleticism, kicked ass, then just went backwards.
LJ is a tremendous recruiter but what good is getting all of these great players if they peak before they put on the Scarlet and Gray?
I had thought that LJsr wasn’t fired this off season because Day thought there was going to be a change in the coaching rule to allow more coaches. And then transition LJsr from DL coach to an assistant. But at this point, if that article are true, Day needs to just cut bait all together.The first step in fixing a problem, is admitting you have a problem. Does Day think/agree he has a problem here?
End of last season was the perfect time to cut bait with Larry and there was a lot of discussion here about the possibility and who they should go after.
I think it will all depend on how the season wraps up. Of course maybe the choice won’t be Days to make.
He does have a penchant for hanging on too long similar to Urbs. Maybe the loyalty thing is why we originally like them so much around here but we need a bit more self reflection every season, at least to get to the top of the mountain. I don't think it's possible anymore to be a "good guy" coach and be the best, its just too competitive for that anymore.Did he fire Coombs, Barnes and Eliano?
I had thought that LJsr wasn’t fired this off season because Day thought there was going to be a change in the coaching rule to allow more coaches. And then transition LJsr from DL coach to an assistant. But at this point, if that article are true, Day needs to just cut bait all together.
Did he fire Coombs, Barnes and Eliano?
I had thought that LJsr wasn’t fired this off season because Day thought there was going to be a change in the coaching rule to allow more coaches. And then transition LJsr from DL coach to an assistant. But at this point, if that article are true, Day needs to just cut bait all together.
This.I think they tried to get a successor on staff this off-season but failed....I'd expect they try again after the season, with Jason Taylor at the top of their list. Buddha Williams is another name to keep an eye on.
This is foreplay, right? Don't tease me, I can only take so much stimulation.Maybe it's wishful thinking on my part, but I just get a feeling that this CFP will be the last that Coach Johnson is a part of the staff.
Have no idea if I'm alone in that, but just figured I would share for communal support.