JD PicKell: Ohio State secondary must play better in 2023

As Jim Knowles gets ready for Year 2 as Ohio State defensive coordinator, the question is how much of a leap the Buckeyes will take. Last year, they ranked sixth in the Big Ten in total defense and seventh in the league in scoring defense, and multiple key pieces of that unit are returning.

But there’s still one area On3’s J.D. PicKell wants to see improve. He has his eyes on the secondary.

As a group, the Ohio State defense brings back some big names. J.T. Tuimoloau is expected to help anchor the unit along with Tommy Eichenberg and Mike Hall. However, the Buckeyes struggled mightily against the run while facing Michigan and will have a big challenge at hand this year against Penn State.

However, PicKell said the solution might not necessarily be in the trenches. He called on the secondary to take a jump so big plays, such as the long touchdown run by Donovan Edwards in The Game, don’t happen.

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“The thing that I’m looking at here pretty closely is the secondary,” PicKell said on The Hard Count. “Because if you go and turn on the tape, that game against Michigan … it was the secondary that didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. Had a couple of busted coverages, a couple of plays where guys were just misaligned. Also, in those long touchdown runs by Donovan Edwards, those were issues in the secondary. Ohio State wasn’t getting blown off the ball when you go back and watch those games. Ohio State wasn’t just getting dominated in the trenches. It was the secondary not being able to fill appropriately on those run plays. They fit it the wrong way and you fit a run play the wrong way, on the back end, you’re the last line of defense. We’re getting run past here. That’s not good for business.

“So when you look at that game specifically, I think it’s a good microcosm for what Michigan was able to do to Ohio State and what Ohio State didn’t do well in the secondary. So you say ‘Okay, secondary has to get better.’ I think that is a fair statement to say.”

JD PicKell: Old and new faces could help Ohio State secondary take a jump

Ryan Day and the Ohio State staff took some steps to help with the issues in the secondary. The Buckeyes dove into the transfer portal and brought in Ja’Had Carter, the former Syracuse safety who came in as the No. 7 overall transfer and No. 1-ranked safety to hit the portal this cycle, according to the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings. Additionally, former Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun is also in the fold after checking in as On3’s No. 22 overall transfer.

Add in a returning player in Denzel Burke and another in Lathan Ransom, who struggled a bit toward the end of last year, and PicKell thinks the pieces are there for the Ohio State secondary to improve.

“You talk about the guys that are coming back. I mean, Lathan Ransom, I think he’s going to play with an edge,” PicKell said. “He did not play his best football in that game against Michigan, in that College Football Playoff game against Georgia. I think you see an improved version of him. I think, Denzel Burke on the corner as well. He’s going to be a guy that, I think, comes back with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder after having a really great freshman year, then last year as a sophomore, didn’t necessarily live up to the expectations people had for him in Columbus.

“This is a team that when you factor in the new faces in the secondary, and then you also look at the progression and maturation you expect from some of the guys that have now played a lot of football for Ohio State, you start to feel a little bit more encouraged about what you have in that secondary unit.”