Back when former Ohio State cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs was trying to create a 3-man — or even 4-man — rotation at cornerback, he would frequently have people asking him why. He would explain his position and also remark that nobody had any problem with defensive ends rotating, so why should people be so preoccupied with corners doing the same thing?
Perhaps the most intriguing part of any fall camp is the position battle. Sure, everybody wants to know how the quarterback is doing — and a position battle at quarterback is always huge, but there are other position battles going on every year as well. This year, despite losing a sizable number of starters, many of the position battles at Ohio State…
It is now July — or thereabouts — which means it is time to ramp up our 2019 Ohio State football preview topics. Up first, is our annual rankings of the Buckeyes’ Top 10 playmakers on both sides of the ball, beginning with the defense. Unlike the offense, which barely features enough skill players to fill out an “outsiders” ranking, the Buckeye…
Last year, the Buckeyes had a star emerge at quarterback as Dwayne Haskins set all kinds of Ohio State passing records. The year before, it was freshman running back JK Dobbins. In 2016, you saw Malik Hooker, Curtis Samuel, Marshon Lattimore, Nick Bosa and I can’t even remember who else become stars. It happens every year. New stars take over…
Ohio State returns all three starting linebackers from last season in Tuf Borland, Malik Harrison, and Pete Werner. In fact, they lost just two linebackers from last year’s team. The Buckeyes were two or three players deep this spring at each linebacker position, which gave new linebackers coach Al Washington plenty to watch throughout camp.
Ohio State entered spring ball with a two-year starter returning at middle linebacker in Tuf Borland, as well as his top two backups. Borland finished third on the team with 67 tackles last season, despite returning while still recovering from an Achilles tendon injury. While Borland got up to speed, it was Baron Browning starting in his place…
Every year, new Buckeyes emerge and climb the depth charts of the Ohio State offense and defense. It is a necessary progression which then allows the program to replace departed stars and reestablish any loss of depth. This year on the OSU defense, nine starters return from last season, which makes climbing the depth chart quite a…
There was a telling moment during an interview session with Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson last week. He was asked about the oft-discussed simplification of the OSU offense and he remarked that “you can never be simplified enough.” This thought flies in the face of what the Buckeyes did the last two years on defense, with…
On Sunday, we looked at the Ohio State offense through the first five practices, which means it is now time to give the same treatment to the Buckeye defense. As head coach Ryan Day has said, the OSU defense returns more experience than the offense, but much of that experience is out with various injuries right now.
Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington, along with Tuf Borland, Teradja Mitchell, and Dallas Gant break down the changes in their unit this spring.
Yesterday, we looked at the six Buckeyes on offense who are set to breakout this spring, so now it’s time to give the same treatment to the defense. Most of last year’s Ohio State defense returns, which is a good thing as long as you don’t go poking your nose where it doesn’t belong (i.e. box scores, DVRs, and YouTube). A new defensive staff…
