For Urban Meyer’s first two seasons at Ohio State, the defense wasn’t quite up to the usual standards Buckeye fans like to see out of their Silver Bullets. Big plays in the passing game, particularly on third-and-long situations, seemed to plague the team during the two years that Everett Withers teamed up with Luke Fickell to handle the defensive coordinator duties.
In Meyer’s first season, the Buckeyes ranked 78th in the country in passing defense, giving up 243.5 yards per game. As bad as that seems, it got even worse in 2013. Ohio State dropped all the way to 112th in pass defense in the second year of the Withers-Fickell partnership, allowing 268 yards per game through the air. Something needed to be done. Meyer promised to fix the defense and suddenly Withers found himself a head coaching job at James Madison.
Then along came Chris Ash.
After joining the Buckeye staff from Arkansas, Ash went to work, helping Fickell fix the communications between the different levels of the defense and installing a more aggressive mindset in his troops.
Ohio State responded.
In 2014, the Buckeyes climbed from 112th, all the way up to 29th in the country in pass defense, en route to a national championship.
In 2014, the Buckeyes climbed from 112th, all the way up to 29th in the country in pass defense, en route to a national championship. Ohio State shaved their passing yards against down to 201.1 per game. Despite the fact that the team didn’t return to the College Football Playoff, the pass defense improved even more in 2015, finishing at No. 16 in the country, yielding only 184.5 yards per contest.
But maintaining that standard in 2016 will not be easy. Ash accepted the head coaching position at Rutgers and was replaced by veteran coach Greg Schiano. You never really know how a coaching staff’s chemistry will be affected when guys are replaced, and it remains to be seen how the Schiano-Fickell partnership will evolve.
Luckily for Ohio State fans, Meyer went out and found a veteran coach who can mesh well with his existing staff, in terms of scheme. Schiano is well versed in quarters coverage and if all goes well, he and Fickell will get on the same page early and build on the great chemistry that the different levels of the Buckeye defense have displayed over the last two years. His safeties and Kerry Coombs’ cornerbacks will hopefully work as one to shut down opposing passing attacks.
But that brings up another problem: who will those safeties and corners be?
Both starting safeties, Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell, are headed for the NFL, as is cornerback Eli Apple. Schiano and Coombs have to replace three quarters of a very solid unit with young guys. But, what they lack in experience, they might make up for in talent.
Malik Hooker was Powell’s backup on the depth chart at season’s end. Erick Smith was out with an injury, but the Glenville High product has looked good in his limited action over his first two seasons in Scarlet & Gray. With two starting safety spots up for grabs, it will be up to Schiano and Fickell to figure out who works best in the scheme.
Damon Webb and Marshon Lattimore will be among those battling to replace Apple on the other side of returning starter Gareon Conley at cornerback. Both have seen some game action, which helps, but is either one ready to be isolated on their own island against the likes of Oklahoma? Will Denzel Ward and Eric Glover-Williams throw their hats into the ring in the cornerback battle?
These are questions that will need to be addressed if Ohio State is going to avoid regressing defensively.
Aside from the secondary losses, Ohio State has also lost Adolphus Washington, Tommy Schutt and Joey Bosa up front, as well as linebackers Darron Lee and Joshua Perry. The front seven led a defense that was ninth nationally in sacks last season. With so many players in the front seven to replace, the Buckeyes will enter the season with question marks about the pass rush.
Obviously, a great pass defense requires both good pressure up front and good coverage downfield. With so many players to replace, the Buckeyes will likely take a step back in pass defense — and total defense, for that matter. The talent is there and the coaching is in place, but chemistry takes time and experience doesn’t happen overnight.
While it is unlikely the Buckeyes will slip all the way back to 112th in the country in pass defense, it’s probably safe to assume there will be some regression. If Schiano, Fickell and Meyer can get the right players in the right spots early, good coaching can mitigate some of that regression and maintain some semblance of the standout pass defense we saw under Ash.
