Matt Patricia brings NFL ideas to the college game, which means more roles for more players, new positions for some and an overall commitment to doing what’s best for the team.
Columbus, OH – After the celebrations ended and their new boss was hired, the Ohio State defensive coaches got to work.
The job: Replace eight starters from a championship defense that was the best 11-man unit in the nation. The theory in any sport when you lose that many starters: Next year won’t be as good.
Maybe so.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
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But the position coaches aren’t complaining about what they lost or comparing this year’s group to last year’s group. But coaches, sometimes, are only as good as the players’ focus on the present. So far, it seems, the players understand the standard they are expected to maintain and the importance of doing whatever the team needs.
For starters, All-American safety Caleb Downs and other veteran leaders know the importance of moving on from last season. Yes, they enjoy the 2024 National Champions banner hanging on the wall of the indoor practice field. And the giant photos from the Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl and championship game are welcome reminders of success.
But when they saw lots of championship reminders on display in the weight room, that was too much. In that room, where they get stronger, become leaders and grow closer, they wanted to forge a new identity as a new team under a new leader.
“You have to reset at some point,” Downs said after Tuesday’s practice. “The new guys that walked in there, they haven’t earned anything. We as the new 2025-26 season, we haven’t earned anything. So we can’t really take credit for anything that is up on the banners. We can’t take credit for winning anything at this point. We have to compete every day to be able to put ourselves in position to have the opportunity to get to that point.”
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The decision to make the weight room about the future fits well with the unknowns the defense faces. The coaches knew the strengths and weaknesses of every player they would be evaluating in spring practice. They knew how they would coach them. They had ideas of who might fit where.
But that’s all.
Other than three returning starters – Downs, cornerback Davison Igbinosun, linebacker Sonny Styles – they weren’t ready to carve anyone’s name in stone on the depth chart. Maybe not even make a temporary list on a whiteboard.
Lots of defensive roles are fluid and open to interpretation under new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Cornerbacks coach and co-defensive coordinator Tim Walton warned Tuesday not to read too much into what is seen on the practice field. Practice time the past two weeks has been like lab time for science class – lots of experimenting to see what works, what doesn’t work and who needs work. Cross training, especially in the secondary, makes up most of this spring’s syllabus.
A lock for conference and national honors in 2025, linebacker Sonny Styles is one of the foundations of the revamped defense.
“Our job as coaches is to have packaging that if those guys earn the right to be on the field, we’ve got to put them on the field,” safeties coach Matt Guerrieri said. “So how do we find the balance to be able to play multiple safeties, multiple corners and packaging? Matt Patricia is the guru of being able to do that throughout his career.”
First, Patricia will rely on his position coaches to get more than 11 players ready to employ multiple packages designed to confuse offenses. And it starts up front with veteran line coach Larry Johnson. He lost four starters. Now he must put together a crew of however many it takes to put the right men in the right spots.
One of Johnson’s new players trying to fill a need is former linebacker C.J. Hicks, a senior from Kettering Alter who came in as a five-star linebacker. Hicks hasn’t played much linebacker, but he has shown pass-rushing ability and is now an edge rusher. He wants to play more and help the team create a strong pass rush.
“The change to edge allows me to be more aggressive,” said Hicks, who is quick off the line. “A lot of people think because of the fact I am 240 I don’t have any power. But I’ll definitely run through somebody’s face if I need to.”
The ‘Guru’…“[Patricia’s] done a great job evaluating everybody and seeing what everybody can do and trying to find ways to use everybody.” – Caleb Downs
“His experience in the league with all types of hybrid guys helps me in my skill set and what I’m trying to do,” Hicks said.
Johnson has experienced ends in seniors Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson, but he wants Hicks to learn the position well enough to be a three-down player.
“Our job coming out of spring ball is to make sure that happens,” Johnson said last week. “So far so good. He’s working hard. He’s very eager to learn it, and that makes a difference.”
Sophomore Eddrick Houston could also play a key role because of a position change. He saw an opportunity to play more during the middle of last season and moved from the edge to tackle. He’s taking that experience and planning on being a difference maker against the run and as a pass rusher.
“I feel like I can produce just as well as I do on the edge,” Houston said. “I have the strength and speed to do it.”
Linebackers coach James Laurinaitis lost Cody Simon in the middle, but the Buckeyes’ former All-American can’t stop talking about junior Arvell Reese and sophomore Payton Pierce. Reese, who will take over Simon’s spot, saw a lot of time last year as the third linebacker.
“His length and his ability to move around and position flex just makes him all the more valuable,” Laurinaitis said. “We’re realizing everything Arvell Reese can do. And it’s a lot.”
Pierce will likely play a similar amount as Reese did last year, especially when the defense uses a 4-3 alignment.
“Absolute natural middle linebacker – his feel in the box and his ability to maneuver and feel blocking schemes,” Laurinaitis said. “I expect Payton to have a lot of playing time.”
Walton and Guerrieri are mixing and matching in the secondary. They want defensive backs who can do a lot of everything more than they want safeties and corners and nickels.
Downs, now the No. 1 leader on the back end, made plays from everywhere last year against the pass and the run. Under Patricia, his everywhere is expanding. Junior Malik Hartford and sophomore Jaylen McClain are competing for the safety spot last occupied by Lathan Ransom.
But, as Guerrieri says, it’s not quite the competition it appears to be.
“Do we just have 11 starters? No, we have starters in a multitude of packaging,” he said. “And we’re not even close to rolling that out yet. I don’t think it’s just a competition between guys for one job. No, we’re trying to put the best 11 on the field. It’s our job to be able to get them out there.”
Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews will be the primary corners. Lorenzo Styles Jr. will likely play a lot of nickel. And others are pushing to be part of different packages that Patricia cooks up.
Downs likes the simple ways Patricia teaches concepts. He likes how the team has turned the page from last season. And he likes what he sees from the replacements.
“There’s different people on the field, and they got to – we got to – make plays with who we are,” Downs said. “[Patricia’s] done a great job evaluating everybody and seeing what everybody can do and trying to find ways to use everybody.”
To maintain the defensive standard, it will take everybody.
