ALL LOVE FOR COACH P. I should write about Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald here, as the defensive linemen combined for 18 tackles, eight tackles for loss and five sacks against Washington.
But… Josh Poloha wrote about them in
Proof Points, Dan Hope wrote about them in
The Caden and Kayden Show, Chris Lauderback wrote about them in
Five Things and the
mysterious 11W Staff wrote about them in
Three Stars of the Game. Rather than bore you with more #content about Curry and McDonald’s dominance, I will open the Skull Session with this: Ohio State players love Matt Patricia — like,
love Matt Patricia.
Last week, Caleb Downs’ comment about the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator stood out to me.
“I respect that man to the highest level,” Downs said. “Just everything he does, even walking in meetings, talking about Marcus Aurelius, talking about things outside of football. It’s a great thing to listen to and be around.”
Then, after Ohio State’s win over Washington — in which the defense held a UW offense that averaged almost 55 points per game to just six points (at home!) — the way the Buckeyes, including Jeremiah Smith, celebrated with Patricia showed it's not just Downs who respects him to the highest level.
I cannot confirm whether Ohio State’s players ever embraced Jim Knowles in that manner, but I feel fairly confident they didn’t. There could be several reasons for that, but I think the most important are these: Patricia’s affection feels genuine, and his intentionality in relationships has built chemistry with coaches and players alike.
But don’t take my word for it — take Ryan Day’s
from his radio show last week.
“He was very intelligent, really good with the players, built relationships on the team but also with the staff,” Day said of his decision to hire Patricia, “but then had the background of playing multiple things and could utilize our guys in different ways, so those were all things that played into it. But I think the biggest thing was that Matt’s been able to step into a room that (the coaches) were already there. … All four (of the defensive assistant coaches) have embraced him. That’s a huge deal because, to me, staff chemistry is very important… ”
Staff chemistry? Like when your longest-tenured assistant engages in the least private beef of all-time with your defensive coordinator? Is that staff chemistry?
“... The players see that. They feed off of it. I believe we have very good staff chemistry, and Larry (Johnson), James (Laurinaitis), Tim (Walton) and Matt (Guerrieri) all do a great job. They work hard. They pour into these players. They do a good job in recruiting,” Day continued.
“And that’s what I mean about chemistry. If you have a bunch of people kind of pulling in different directions. That’s no good. But you also have a bunch of guys who are gonna, you know, challenge each other. It can’t just be a group think, but when you leave the room, everyone’s got their arms together saying this is what it’s gonna be, that it’s the best for the Buckeyes. The players can feed off of that. That’s very, very important.”
Ohio State’s defense leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 5.3 points per game, and also ranks among the top teams in total defense with only 229.3 yards allowed per contest.
With Matt Patricia on the headset and elite talent across the field, such dominance is no surprise to head coach Ryan Day.
“It doesn’t surprise me with the coaches that we have; it doesn’t surprise me with the players that we have,” Day said Saturday. “That being said, we’ve got a long season ahead. Right now, there’s confidence, and that’s the most important thing.”
And confidence, it seems, starts with love for Coach P.
Ohio State's players love Matt Patricia, the Buckeyes' defense gives the offense confidence and CJ Donaldson calls Jeremiah Smith an "alien" who is "always bringing that juice."
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