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Vo. 1, No. 47
This week in Ohio State football, both coordinators spoke.
They did not answer many questions with much specificity, but Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia did confirm a few theories and at least leave some breadcrumbs that could lead us to other conclusions now or in the future.
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Now then…
Arthur Smith and Matt Patricia seem to have a lot in common
This is not breaking news, of course.
Both of Ohio State’s coordinators for 2026 not only came to Ohio State from the NFL but were head coaches at the highest level of football.
Patricia confirmed he talked to Smith about his experience before Smith took the OC job, so it seems as though Smith entered this situation with eyes wide open.
Unfortunately (for the media), both of them are also very good at talking around things in interviews, even things we are able to see with our own eyes during those rare open practices (which also included hundreds of fans, keep in mind).
After Smith downplayed the fact the Buckeyes were under center a lot during those first days of practice, Patricia directed attention away from true freshman Jay Timmons being at nickel back.
Both cited not wanting the opponents to be tipped off, but I don’t think in either case it’s going to make a difference — Texas isn’t even the first game, anyway. I’m sure they will hold back some things during the opener against Ball State, but they aren’t going to run a fake game plan just to keep the Longhorns guessing. Getting some real game reps with players and schemes is more valuable than the element of surprise anyway.
(And like I said: If it’s that big a deal, don’t invite fans to watch the first three days.)
There were some nuggets to be gleaned from our conversations, it just wasn’t as cool as it could be if we could really chat Xs and Os with guys like that. Such things still happen, but they seem to be getting more rare.
The most telling part of Smith’s interview session was when he zeroed in on the importance of logistics, and not just because his father founded FedEx.
That would seem to confirm he saw some issues with how Ohio State called plays and got situated at the line of scrimmage last season —especially when he then issued a non-denial denial when asked directly about that.
This furthers my theory that even if Smith added nothing to the playbook, just having someone with his knowledge and experience revamp what they were doing last year should have a noticeable impact.
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Smith also tried to make the case (meekly) the under-center stuff was just part of installation process and refining fundamentals, but he wasn’t very convincing.
His saying they aren’t going to come out under center on third-and-long with split backs like the 1990s Cowboys under Troy Aikman and 49ers under Joe Montana (or Ohio State under Bobby Hoying, for that matter) was instructive, though, because for my money no longer doing that is the No. 1 biggest lasting impact of the spread era, which is thankfully over.
At the end of the day, the lesson of the spread is space is your friend, but you still have to pay the piper and block people more often than not.
For a while there, everyone was playing their third down offense on every down, but it was only a matter of time until defenses adjusted by playing their third down defense all the time. That also meant they got a lot better at stopping spread runs and short passes thanks to all those reps, so the game has cycled back to where it was 25 or 30 years ago with some exceptions and alterations.
The most significant part of Patricia’s interview came when he confirmed they will probably need multiple guys to replace Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, Kayden McDonald and Caleb Downs.
Nothing wrong with that, of course. It just shows how unique the situation was last year with those guys who were so versatile.
That was a luxury, but sub packages have been a part of football for years.
I think five DBs will continue to be “base” for most teams because there are so many things you can do with that fifth defensive back depending on his body type and skills, but there are indications we’ll see more 4-3 this year than in we have in a while, too.
As for the base 4-2-5, there appears to be a debate about whether or not the fifth DB is going to be a safety or a cornerback.
The expectation was Florida State transfer Earl Little Jr. would fill the nickel back role with Terry Moore from Duke being one of the deep safeties with returning starter Jaylen McClain, but that was not the case for most of the snaps during the open periods of practice.
(Here’s more on Little from Tony Gerdeman at BuckeyeInsiders.com: LINK)
Moore ran with the 2s, Little was a deep safety and true freshman Jay Timmons played nickel, which qualified as a major surprise.
Timmons was rated as a cornerback coming out of Gibsonia, Pa., where he was the No. 25 prospect in the country according to 247Sports Composite rankings, but he is built more like a safety.
We also saw a package with the same deep safeties but returning starting CB Jermaine Mathews Jr. at nickel and Georgia transfer Dominick Kelly at one outside cornerback spot opposite Devin Sanchez, a sophomore who is ascending.
I suspect that would be a package for third downs and pass-happy teams like Texas because Mathews is probably not someone you want to be in the box trying to stop the run frequently, but we’ll see how it turns out.
Patricia also said this would be a big week for seeing everyone compete to prove to the coaches what their strengths are and how they can be used, so expect a shakeup in the next seven days or so.
The biggest question at this point for the defense is probably how many game-wreckers Ohio State has… if any? Plenty of candidates, but someone has to prove they can do it.
Adjacent to that is what nose tackle looks like, more or less literally.
Will Smith Jr. and John Walker are competing to replace McDonald, but they are giving up at least 20 pounds to last year’s man in the middle, who was listed at 326 but looked much bigger than that.
McDonald was the first true one-gap nose tackle Ohio State has had in forever, so I don’t expect them to get the same type of production this fall. That’s one more change Patricia will have to navigate, but they do seem to have a deep group ready to play some role at all four spots up front.
We’ve seen Larry Johnson excel at deploying groups like that in the past, such as 2016 and ’17 when they had a bunch of NFL-caliber guys and none played full time.
BONUS CONTENT!
Aside from this newsletter, I’m also sharing my thoughts on the premium message board at BuckeyeSports.com and Buckeye Insiders, where I am also serving as the basketball insider for both the men’s and women’s teams.
To that end, please check out my thoughts on the Buckeyes’ trip to Puerto Rico earlier this month.
Beyond that, I’m writing for multiple sites, including primarily PressProsMagazine.com, The Associated Press and MensJournal.com.
For Press Pros, my contribution this week was a column about what Arthur Smith brings to the Buckeyes whether he is willing to say it or not.
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