No doubt good, I'd rather have USC's top 2 and OSU's overall.I do agree with Harrison's inexperience but he really shined last year when he had a chance to play - specifically blowing up in the Rose Bowl when both Wilson and Olave sat out for the future NFL draft. He had a huge Rose Bowl. But he will be pushed for playing time by both Egbuka and Fleming who were both national #1 receivers in their classes.
I did find this WR duo rating on 247 recently. They also think highly of Harrison
OSU has real problems on defense
- Thread starter Zorich 88
- Start date
Then if OSU's class is what you desire, Notre Dame needs to switch to a "...we ain't come here to play school..." philosophy towards academics, and telling football players that attending class is an option, not required.
Last edited:
It's the best line from a physical/physique standpoint they've had. I didn't say it was the best-that will be determined on the field. But they are talented as hell and athletic and you shouldn't be surprised if they win the the Joe Moore award.
Jordan Addison wouldn't crack the top 4 in the Ohio State room. Overrated just happened to rack up big numbers being the top dog on a team in a bad conference. Specifically remember Hartline essentially laughing at the notion that he would fit in the Ohio State room.
Can't go wrong with either duo but just shows that Lincoln Riley and Ryan Day's passing games are lethal. They get the vast majority of QBs and WRs they go after.
They did. After Coombs was fired in game 2, Matt Barnes took over the play calling and said he didn't even feel comfortable coordinating that type of defense. It was a mess. Imagine running a base defense with a single coverage the whole year with that kind of dysfunction and still winning 11 games.
He's not even in the same universe as JSN. And I wouldn't take him ahead of Marvin Harrison or Emeka Egbuka.
Combs was still on staff but coached from the booth. Barnes coached from the sideline.
Matt Barnes Says Ohio State’s Defensive Play Calling Has Been “Group Effort” Following Staff Shakeup
Although Matt Barnes is now Ohio State's lead defensive play caller, he says all of the Buckeyes’ defensive coaches have input on the game plan and in-game decisions.
This article from October says Barnes has improved the defense. Please, find where he said he was not comfortable running that style.
Ohio State Football: Matt Barnes has made defense better
The Ohio State football team struggled on the defensive side of the ball earlier this season. Now that Matt Barnes has taken over, things have changed.
It was simply a coaching problem, it is also a personal issue.
Last edited:
Barnes led defense played well against average to good teams but against Michigan the lack of talent at LB was exposed.
That Michigan game had nothing to do with coaching. It was the same scheme OSU ran all season.
The difference, Michigan knew going into that game they could run all over that defense. Jim said it after the game they knew they could run the ball.
Also, a little side note, I have a family member that plays CB/ST on Michigan right now. He told me all week leading up to that game the plan was to run, run and run some more because the weakness of that defense is the LBs.
I picked OSU in that game.
Ryan Day did an interview in the spring in the Columbus Dispatch where he explained all the problems and the changes. Said he knew after the Alabama debacle that he knew he likely had to make a change but gave Coombs the benefit of the doubt with Covid year. Then after Oregon he made the change and "fired" Coombs as the DC and installed Matt Barnes. Tim May said Barnes admitted he didn't feel comfortable calling that defense. There was almost an all out brawl after the Oregon debacle between coaches on the staff and I believe it was between Al Washington and Larry Johnson. Watch what happens when the linebackers get a real coach teaching them this year. I'll say it a million times-Al Washington had no business coaching that unit he was an unmitigated disaster.Combs was still on staff but coached from the booth. Barnes coached from the sideline.
Matt Barnes Says Ohio State’s Defensive Play Calling Has Been “Group Effort” Following Staff Shakeup
Although Matt Barnes is now Ohio State's lead defensive play caller, he says all of the Buckeyes’ defensive coaches have input on the game plan and in-game decisions.www.elevenwarriors.com
This article from October says Barnes has improved the defense. Please, find where he said he was not comfortable running that style.
Ohio State Football: Matt Barnes has made defense better
The Ohio State football team struggled on the defensive side of the ball earlier this season. Now that Matt Barnes has taken over, things have changed.scarletandgame.com
It was simply a coaching problem, it is also a personal issue.
Are you like most of the male fans who wear a Scarlet/Gray replica jersey to games?
Yes I agree Al Washington was an awful linebackers coach-should never have been anywhere near the Ohio State defense. Thankfully he's gone. Last year was his first year coaching that group without Greg Mattison and his lack of knowledge was fully exposed.
Okay, I understand and have read that the OSU starting 5 is really good but what about their depth? I've read that it could be a concern especially if injuries occur or late in the year when fatigue sets in
Where is the quote that says Barnes was not comfortable playing a 4-2-5? Again, under Barnes, no one was complaining about the defense until the Michigan loss.
You keep going after Al. So Al is the reason Michigan and Origen dominated OSU on the ground?
I don't give two shits about how talented they are when they don't know how to be in the right spots
Our OL depth is not as strong as in recent years, if we lose a guy it could mean some trouble. We have a talented 6th man in Josh Fryar but he missed all spring, he could play all 4 positions on the left or right side. OL depth is something that needs to continue to develop at Ohio State. The 2nd and 3rd string DL whipped the OL during the spring and spring game and Day has publicly said depth needs to be built. It also didn't help we lost a really talented 5* in Harry Miller to retirement. But I guess the positive is Ohio State hardly deals with significant OL injuries, it's one of the healthiest units on the team every year.
Edit: I'm hoping we get ahead big in a lot of games and the 2nd And 3rd stringers can play a lot of snaps. Obviously the best way to develop depth is to play live snaps.
Exactly right and that was OSU's issue with their defensive back 7 last year. Even TV announcers made reference to this problem
One could argue that ND gave up 995 yards in the two losses last year (and 61 points)...while OSU gave up 992 yards in its two losses, and 77 points). We could drill down the differences between Cincy/OkSt and Mich/Oregon...but really, the insistence on focusing on OSU's defense, while ignoring Notre Dame's defensive stats last season is questionable. If we did those comparisons...then we would have to flip to offensive stats....and the conversation will be much different. There is no glaring disparity there....alot more similarities in results, imo, defensively. Last season is gone...as are many players and coaches on both sides. Both teams have a new defensive coordinator; meaning schemes and personnel will be different, on both teams. I just don't get the pissing match over last year's defenses. This is Game 1 in the Shoe, at night. OSU is favored. If ND is going to win...we will be discussing alot of offense and points that will likely be a surprise. OSU's will not be a surprise to anyone...unless ND holds them to 24 points or less. JMO.
It's in the Columbus dispatch behind a paywall. Tim May talked about this in a video they did after a spring press conference.
Yes, Al is a big part of the linebacker struggles exacerbated by a lame duck defensive coordinator and all the in-season dysfunction. He should have never been coaching that group and he went off a cliff when Greg Mattison wasn't helping any longer.
Enokk Vimahi is just as valuable as Fryar and Jakob James can definitely play if called on. They need to get the younger guys up to speed so it's a big August for development for some of them like Michalski and Christman. Ben has a ton of potential, just injured and missed the spring as well.
Losing Mattison was a gut punch for OSU. And in fairness, Washington is basically a DL line coach as he was clueless with the LBs.
And for those that are claiming that the OSU defensive personal is lacking, check out that group's individual Composite rankings coming out of HS. Any school would love those defensive recruiting HS kids. They just weren't coached up and developed, hence the wipeout of the OSU defensive staff after last year. But that's on Ryan day as he was the one who hired those goobers
If ND only scores 2 TDs and a couple of FGs they don’t deserve playoff talk.
