Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day is known as a guy that knows the quarterback position and has teams that like to score in bunches. And while that perception was built during his first few years on the job, last season was a little different.
So much so that OSU finished the season as the No. 48 team in total offense, but second best in scoring defense, and third best in total yardage given up. Truth be known, last year’s squad didn’t have the same play at quarterback it did in year’s past, and the offensive line wasn’t the strength of the team either. So, Day knew he had to have a team that could dictate things on that side of the ball.
Fast forward to what we see this fall, and it looks like another very, very talented bunch on that side of the ball. Not only is defensive coordinator Jim Knowles back after tweaking things last season and building upon what it takes to win in the Big Ten, but several high profile players are back to return a unit that was lights out last season.
And Day knows it. In fact, while appearing on the local Columbus ESPN affiliate, 97.1 “The Fan,” Day said he expects the defense to be a major strength of the team again in 2024.
“We’re about to enter year three, and we have the opportunity — with a lot of hard work — to have the best defense in the country,” Day told Brandon Beam and Bobby Carpenter on 97.1 The Fan. “We know that if we want to reach our goals, we will have to play well on defense.”
Skull Session: Ryan Day thinks Ohio State can have "the best defense in the country" this fall and Kirk Herbstreit says he went to therapy while playing for the Buckeyes. https://t.co/00yRvGQxrT
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) May 28, 2024
Many like to criticize Day for his shortcomings against Michigan the last three years and the lack of a national title, but you have to at least give him credit for making the hard changes needed, including making the right hires to turn the defense around.
This year might be the most talented defense many of us have seen in a long, long, time.
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