Ohio State strengthened its defensive coaching staff on Saturday with the hire of Tony Washington Jr. as its new assistant defensive line coach.
Washington, who spent last season as the defensive line and outside linebackers coach for UCLA, fills the void left by graduate assistant LaAllan Clark, who departed Ohio State to serve as the defensive ends coach for Texas.
In addition to his one-year stint at UCLA, Washington previously coached at Nebraska and Oregon — his alma mater. He worked at Nebraska as a graduate assistant from 2019-20 before returning to Oregon to serve in a variety of roles, including director of player development, assistant defensive line coach and outside linebackers coach.
Prior to his coaching career, Washington played four seasons for the Ducks from 2011-14 and appeared in 58 games while tallying 158 tackles, 25.5 tackles for a loss and 14.5 sacks across his career. He was a member of the Oregon team that lost to Ohio State in the 2015 College Football Playoff national championship game. He went on to play for the NFL’s Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans before starting his coaching career.
Now, Washington will assist defensive line coach Larry Johnson as the Buckeyes seek to reload on their defensive front in 2025 following the departures of starting defensive ends Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau and defensive tackles Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton from this past season.
