While the overall play of Ohio State’s secondary has improved significantly since the Buckeyes’ loss to Oklahoma, there has been one new issue that has afflicted the Buckeyes’ defensive backfield over the past two weeks: Targeting penalties.
Backup safety Jahsen Wint became the first Ohio State player to be ejected from a game this year when he was disqualified for a targeting penalty in the fourth quarter of the Buckeyes’ game against Rutgers two weeks ago. Wint was suspended for the first half of this past week’s game against Maryland as a result.
Both of Ohio State’s starting cornerbacks were disqualified from the Maryland game for incurring targeting penalties of their own. Denzel Ward was ejected from the game in the first quarter, while Damon Arnette was ejected in the third quarter, which means Arnette will be suspended for the first half of this Saturday’s game against Nebraska.
Not all of those penalties should have been called. Ohio State coach Urban Meyer revealed Tuesday that the Big Ten apologized after the game for Ward’s ejection, admitting that the targeting penalty called on the field should have been overturned upon replay review. Arnette's hit on Maryland quarterback Max Bortenschlager that got him thrown out of Saturday's game, however, was a legitimate infraction.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, who is also the Buckeyes' safeties coach, is spending time talking to his players this week about how to avoid targeting penalties. But he says that’s nothing new.
"We’ve talked to them about it from training camp on," Schiano said. "It’s not just this week. It’s something that we talk about constantly."
How do Ohio State’s defensive coaches help their players avoid targeting penalties? Schiano says they instruct their players to keep their eyes up when they tackle and to aim for a designated strike zone when hitting.
"I think it all comes back to the strike zone," Schiano said. "I say this to my sons, I say it to this team: see what you hit. If your eyes are up, and you see what you hit, you hit in the strike zone, you’re not going to get a penalty."
That last sentence, of course, seemingly didn’t apply to Ward on Saturday, but Schiano said he isn’t dwelling on that.
"You just got to move on," Schiano said.
Schiano wants his defenders to continue to play aggressively, but he says they do need to be smarter with their aggression.
"There’s certain things that when you do it, instantly are going to elicit a targeting foul," Schiano said. "We need to hit in that strike zone. Anything different than that, you can anticipate a penalty."
“I say this to my sons, I say it to this team: see what you hit.”– Greg Schiano
Meyer said Tuesday that he was "irate" about the fact that Ward was wrongfully ejected from the game, and expressed concern about the possibility that the Buckeyes could have a player wrongfully disqualified from a game again in the future.
"Concerned’s probably not strong enough," Meyer said.
Meyer was also upset with Arnette, however, for picking up a targeting penalty on a hit that was actually not penalized on the field, but rightfully ruled to be targeting upon replay review.
"I’m so angry about that," Meyer said of Arnette's penalty after Saturday’s game, which the Buckeyes won 62-14 despite the targeting penalties. "Not very bright."
Damon Arnette heads back to the locker room after being ejected from Saturday's game against Maryland for targeting.
Schiano said Tuesday that for player safety reasons, he believes the targeting rule is good for college football, but that it is important for the replay officials to make sure they get the calls right.
"I don’t think the game’s ever been more safe than it is today, and it’s a good thing we did that," Schiano said in regards to the targeting rule. "We’d have some big problems. We just got to make sure that when it is called, they have a system in place for review. I think the whole thing is a positive move for football, you just got to do it right."
