Hickman Endorses Buckeye Defense Ahead of Conference Battle at Rutgers
Ronnie Hickman has no doubts about his teammates on defense, a unit currently plagued by negative headlines and shaky performances.
The safety shared on Wednesday he was beyond confident in what he and his fellow defensive players have done in practice this week ahead of Saturday’s battle at Rutgers. Hickman made sure to stress the importance of staying focused on their goals rather than the Scarlet Knights offense.
“I think this week we need to focus on us,” Hickman said, “If we play our roles and do our assignments, we’ll be good.”
The Ohio State defense was called into question right off the bat when Minnesota, (a team many had marked as an easy win for the Buckeyes) led at halftime and almost pulled off an upset in this year’s season opener.
Those errors were chalked up to the young secondary’s lack of experience and mostly went away after the 48-hour news cycle expired.
The defensive concerns reared their ugly head once more however the very next weekend after Ohio State’s loss to Oregon. The Ducks posted over 500 yards of total offense in the game.
Hickman assured the media these struggles were nothing more than growing pains, and that the defensive stars of tomorrow would reach their potential by following the fundamentals, like eye control.
“Our coaches have made it (clear) to us that it's critically important for us to stay on top of those things, with us being young and not having the experience,” Hickman said, “We’ve been taught rules, and if we follow those rules, we’ll be good.”
Hickman spoke as well about defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and safeties coach Matt Barnes.
Coombs was recently moved from the sideline to the press box, a role many said was a demotion.
However Hickman said Barnes and Coombs both excel at their jobs and are a fantastic partnership.
“They both do a great job of coaching what needs to be coached,” Hickman said, “They both work well together.”
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