Tom Herman on Chris Ash: 'He's as Good a Defensive Coach as I've Ever Been Around'
Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman praised his longtime friend and colleague Chris Ash during an introduction for the Texas High School Coaches Association virtual conference on Sunday.
"Not only is he a good friend of mine, he's as good a defensive coach as I've ever been around," Herman said during his introductory statement at the conference.
Ash, who was giving a siminar on his defensive scheme right after Herman's speech, has worked with Herman on three occasions now dating back to their time together at Iowa State as assistant coaches. The pair were the offensive and defensive coordinators for Ohio State during the Buckeyes' 2014 national title run.
"When the stars aligned for us needing a new defensive coordinator and him transitioning his career after being a head coach, it was a no-brainer," Herman said.
The Texas head coach went on to describe Ash's scheme philosophy, praising it for being both accessible for players and tough to read for opposing offenses.
"When I interviewed Chris, he said 'be simple, but not predictable,'" Herman said. "I thought the greatest way to stay successful on defense. Be simple in what you do and what you ask your kids to do. Let them run fast, hit hard and tackle well, but have enough wrinkles where the offense cant get a bead on you."
The Longhorns finally got back on the field to participate in football activities just this past week, but the lack of personal contact through coronavirus quarantine didn't stop Ash from working with players to install his defense.
"I know this whole offseason has been different, so to speak, but he's handled it and taken charge of the defense as well as I could have expected and better than I could have expected," Herman said.
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