There's quite a distinct difference in how Ohio State's secondary has approached the last two springs.
Last year, the Buckeyes brought in Chris Ash as the new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach and underwent a much-needed overhaul to fix a broken pass defense that was one of the worst in the Big Ten.
This spring — after a dramatic one-year turnaround — is more about Ohio State perfecting its craft.
"It's all about sharpening the sword," safety Vonn Bell said Thursday.
The difference in the 2014 pass defense compared to the one in the 2013 season is somewhat staggering.
Two years ago, Ohio State ranked 11th in the Big Ten in pass defense, giving up 268 yards per game through the air. In 2014, though, the Buckeyes surrendered just 201 yards per contest in the same department. That mark was good for sixth in the Big Ten.
“If you get a pat on the back and people tell you how good you are that’s when you’ll mess up. We’re looking for that hunger, we’re looking for that passion, that energy, that fire to come out every day.”– Vonn Bell
Ohio State attributed most of the success to Ash's new, more aggressive defensive scheme which featured a lot of press coverage and allowed some of the Buckeyes' better players to become playmakers.
It wasn't perfect in the first year, of course, but it was certainly much-improved.
“Our base defense is not going to change, but as is the case in every offseason you try to find ways to make things better," Ash said Thursday after spring practice No. 7. "You identify what offenses did to attack you and you try to come up with a couple wrinkles here and there to help you with that."
The personnel isn't going to change a ton in 2015, either. Ohio State loses No. 1 cornerback Doran Grant, but it returns all three of its other starters in the secondary: Bell, safety Tyvis Powell and cornerback Eli Apple.
Gareon Conley and Damon Webb are currently battling for that lone starting spot opposite Apple, while Erick Smith and Cam Burrows give the Buckeyes two more than capable backups at safety.
“Going off last year and seeing the success we had late in the season, basically we’re just coming out here and trying to enhance it and get that better," Powell said. "Everybody’s coming out here playing with more confidence."
Right now, as the Buckeyes are in the middle of their spring work outs, everything is about fine-tuning. They don't play a game for five months so they've got time to work out some of the kinks and make those adjustments Ash, Powell and Bell referred to.
Ohio State may be more confident in what is doing defensively now, but that doesn't mean it's comfortable. Because — as it has been stated many times since the Buckeyes won the national title — complacency and comfort are the biggest challenges they will face.
“We’re not trying to get comfortable, that’s where you mess up at. If you get a pat on the back and people tell you how good you are that’s when you’ll mess up," Bell said. "We’re looking for that hunger, we’re looking for that passion, that energy, that fire to come out every day.”
