Ryan Day raves about potential of Ohio State defense
For many years Ohio State‘s offense has been the headliner of the Buckeyes, highlighted by elite quarterbacks and wide receivers who have translated their skills from Saturdays to Sundays in the NFL. But after a successful season on the defensive side of the ball last year, this season the Buckeyes have reloaded and could be the top unit in the country.
The Buckeyes are still poised for offensive success per usual, but head coach Ryan Day recently spoke about their slew of talent on the defense and how they’ll look to take things to an even higher level.
“Yeah the first thing is you gotta get the right people in the right seats and I think we’ve done that,” Day said. “And it started off, like you said, with Cody Simon coming back, and then Jack (Sawyer), and then Tyleik (Williams), and JT (Tuimoloau), and Denzel (Burke), and Lathan (Ransom)], and then you add Caleb (Downs) in there.”
“And then you mix in Jordan Hancock who’s probably one of the most underrated guys on our team right now. I think he’s tremendous, gonna have another great year,” Day added. “IGB (Davison Igbinosun), Ty Hamilton‘s another guy that’s kind of an unsung hero right now on our defense, really solid player. And then moving Sonny Styles to linebacker, you’ve got C.J. Hicks in the mix, Arvell Reese is coming on.”
Ohio State had a multitude of defensive players who could have declared for last year’s NFL Draft and would have been selected stay in Columbus this offseason. That paired with exciting transfer portal additions and talented players with another year of development under their belts makes the Buckeyes even scarier after allowing just 11 points per game last season.
On paper, there are not many defenses that will compare to Ohio State heading into the season. But it takes more than talent to win football games and achieve greatness, which Day and his defense will strive towards this offseason as part of a team on a mission.
“So there’s a lot of excitement around the defensive side of the ball. We’re going to have to play with depth, it’s gonna be a long season. But to me, it’s all about the mindset,” Day said. “The talent is there and individually that’s where you try to get better during the spring. How do you get better a player technically, fundamentally, and as we head into the summer now it’s the chemistry. Now it’s the group coming together as a defense and building that identity.”
A lot of attention will be on Ohio State this season in a year filled to the brim with expectations, making it even more fascinating to see how much they can continue to grow this offseason as they’ll look to live up to the hype.