Ryan Day still deciding who will call Ohio State's defensive plays

On3 imageby:Simon Gibbs09/16/21

SimonGibbs26

Ohio State’s defense has struggled mightily through the first two games of the year, and head coach Ryan Day has had to look at new ways to evaluate opposing offenses and call plays.

The Buckeyes defensive unit was far from perfect a year ago, but Ohio State in the COVID-abbreviated season was able to make it to the College Football Playoff. At this point — after squeaking past Minnesota, 45-31, and losing in upset fashion at home to Oregon, 35-28 — the Buckeyes do not appear to be on that same postseason path. To correct the season, Day says the defense will have to continue to make necessary in-game adjustments.

And those adjustments, according to Day, might include playcalling. Instead of having defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs assume the entire responsibility of calling the plays, Day said he hasn’t made a final decision.

“I think the key is going to be how do we put the best team in the best position to call the right defense for what we’re seeing,” Day said in Thursday’s press conference. “But also identifying what’s happening in-game. So usually you have someone who’s looking on the back end and somebody who’s looking at the front. And say, ‘OK, what kind of schemes are we getting in the run game, and then what’s going on in the back end in terms of coverage and how they’re trying to impact us in the pass game.”

In short: The Buckeyes play in just two days, and Day has not yet decided who will call the plays on defense.

“I’m still gonna kind of see how practice goes today, and then we’ll probably make a decision here later tonight,” Day said.

Day has been outspoken with his disappointment of the defensive performance to-date, and his unit has broken down many times. Perhaps no performance will top the defense against Oregon, as the Ducks were able to run all over the Buckeyes’ defense. CJ Verdell had 20 carries and turned it into a whopping 161 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, Verdell had 34 receiving yards on three catches and another receiving touchdown.

With gameday looming, it seems like Day might decide to lean heavily on his players to call plays over Coombs.

“That information has to get filtered down to the field, and then we have to get those things to the sidelines to our players and make adjustments, and that’s the bottom line,” Day said. “That’s not brain surgery. That’s just what it is. So, figuring that out as we head into Saturday is what we’ve been focused on all week.”