Maryland Should Expect a Much Different Ohio State Defense
There are a lot of theories for the defensive transformation Ohio State is exhibiting this season.
Many of the reasons given make perfect sense.
They just don't provide a complete explanation for the depth of the improvement.
How does a defense that allowed 403 yards per-game and a school-record 25.5 points per-game in 2018 blow through the first eight games of its 2019 schedule allowing just 224 yards per-game and a national-low 7.9 points per-game?
Maybe that happens if a flood of impact freshmen are playing now who didn't a year ago, but that's not the case.
Ohio State doesn't start a single freshman on defense.
"I think there’s a lot of things," OSU coach Ryan Day said, attempting to tackle the mystery. "In terms of maturity, these guys are all a year older. That’s all changed. The scheme has changed. There’s a lot that goes into it.
"The offenses we’re seeing are different. This team is hungry. I think they all really enjoy playing with each other. I think it’s a conversation that would take more than just one answer on why."
Four of the five staff members on the defensive side are new to OSU this season, led by co-coordinators Jeff Hafley and Greg Mattison.
They replaced Greg Schiano and Alex Grinch, with Schiano delicately jettisoned by Day and Grinch either jumping or being pushed to Oklahoma, where he runs the Sooners' defense.
Day has been effusive in his praise of the defense and a bit more tempered in extolling his new defensive staff, because if he does that he's -- by connection -- criticizing the coaches who left.
Asked if it's as simple as that staff employing the wrong defensive scheme -- either because of its complexity or its inefficiency -- Day wouldn't agree.
"I think there’s a lot that goes into it," he said. "I don’t think it’s as simple as that.
"Again, I think so much of it has to do with a bunch of guys who sat around for a whole off-season, heard that they struggled. They came in with something to prove. They worked really hard in the off-season, got bigger, stronger, dove into the defense, created great relationships with the coaches. Now they’re playing at a high level."
They certainly are.
The very same players who came under fire from Ohio State fans last year are getting constant love this fall.
No longer are fans griping about linebackers Tuf Borland, Malik Harrison, Pete Werner or Baron Browning and their inability to tackle.
Likewise, the criticism for defensive linemen Robert Landers, Jason Cornell and Chase Young -- yes, even Chase Young took heat from critics in 2018 -- has transformed into estimates that they comprise the best defensive line in the country.
And the constant complaining about the numerous pass interference and defensive holding calls on Damon Arnette, Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade has vanished -- replaced by widespread predictions that all three will go in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Day cited recovery from injury as one factor, and there's truth in that.
Young essentially vanished in mid-season with ankle issues.
Landers and Cornell battled through nagging injuries without leaving the lineup, and Borland was coming off Achilles surgery in the off-season.
All those players will start a noon game Saturday against Maryland, just like they did last year in College Park when the 5-5 Terrapins played once-beaten, ninth-ranked OSU.
Maryland rushed for 335 yards that day, put up 535 as a team and would have won if not for its quarterback airmailing a wide-open receiver from 7 yards away on a game-winning two-point pass in a 52-51 final.
It was the height of Ohio State's defensive dysfunction -- yes, even worse than allowing 49 points in a lopsided loss earlier at Purdue -- and it left then-head coach Urban Meyer bent over, grabbing his knees in frustration all afternoon.
Now Meyer is gone, Day has replaced him, the Buckeyes are playing a different defensive scheme under a defensive staff that's 80% new and a unit that allowed seven touchdowns in one long afternoon at Maryland has allowed just six TDs in eight games this season.
"We learned how not to be selfish," Cornell said. "Sometimes you want to play for yourself, but now the team is playing for each other. We're not arguing. We're not yelling at each other. We're not getting down on each other. If a player makes a mistake, we're pushing them up saying, 'Look, we'll get it on the next play.' We're not worried about anything.
"That's one thing that we're not doing that we did in previous years. We're not playing selfish. We're not playing for ourselves. We're not playing for wins. We're playing for each other. This is just a brotherhood now. It's a really strong brotherhood."
That's an interesting assessment, because the word, "brotherhood," was thrown around like a frisbee throughout Meyer's seven seasons.
"Not saying we didn't have brotherhoods before... but what the outside world can't see that we see in the locker room now, it's just different," Cornell said. "It's a different feeling that we have in the locker room.
"You can see people laughing, having fun. We're just all playing loose. I feel that's one thing, that's one thing that's different between being a good football player and a bad football player -- being able to play loose and understanding what's in front of you. That's some of the issues we probably had in the past, not being able to play loose."
Asked if he thought OSU played an inadequate defensive scheme in 2018, Cornell said:
"I think they're just letting us play. That's what we always wanted to do, just let us play. That's one thing we're doing is just playing ball."
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