COLUMBUS, Ohio – With a youthful offense and the challenge of facing a lethal, unique offense the Buckeyes defensive players have their hands full as they open their 125th season.
It’s already difficult to play Navy because of the tough, dedicated and disciplined players on any service academy’s roster. On top of that, No. 5 Ohio State must get ready for one of the few full-time practitioners of the triple-option left at the college level.
So when the Buckeyes meet the Midshipmen on Saturday in Baltimore (Noon/CBS Sports Network), they must prepare for a physical battle against a supremely conditioned team. They also must hone their knowledge of assignment defense against star quarterback Keenan Reynolds and Navy’s other offensive threats.
With an offense that returns only four starters and is under the direction of an untried quarterback, it will be up to a defense that looked woefully porous at time in 2013 to keep opponents off the scoreboard in 2014.
The linebackers took a lot of the blame last year when Ohio State lost its final two games. Now they’re trying to be the focus of a rejuvenated defense.
Despite losing leading tackler Ryan Shazier, who went in the first round of the NFL draft to Pittsburgh, everyone is optimistic about the position.
With returning starters Joshua Perry and Curtis Grant being joined by upstarts such as Darron Lee and Raekwon McMillan, the Buckeyes have reloaded heading into Saturday’s season opener against Navy.
Coach Urban Meyer raves about the improvement he’s seen in Perry and Grant. Plus, a new defensive mindset has also brought on a fresh assessment of the position.
Now, the ‘backers may be the defense’s backbone.
Meyer wasn’t just unhappy with his pass defense after last season. So upset was he by a feeble series of performances that he destroyed it, hired a new coach to oversee what was left and then they rebuilt it from the ground up.
As a result, there are a lot of people watching a backfield that gave 268 yards per game and 31 touchdowns to opponents who only found the end zone on the ground nine times.
New co-defensive coordinator Chris Ash is praising the commitment and work ethic of a secondary that will rely on man-to-man coverage this year. He likes the depth at cornerback and the hitters he has at safety.
He also believes the dramatic changes will add up to dramatic improvement.