It’s not controversial to say that Ohio State is having a rough start to their 2021 football season. But the defense has been a major culprit in their 2-1 campaign, and head coach Ryan Day is trying to address it.
Appearing on Sirius XM, longtime football coach Rick Neuheisel said he has some insight into what Day has been up to. He revealed that Day has been going outside of his own defensive staff for guidance on how to fix things.
Among the people Day has spoken to is someone who has familiarity with his system. Greg Mattison, who served as co-defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020 is apparently in conversation with Day.
Mattison has decades of experience at both the college and NFL levels. He retired this past January and was replaced by Kerry Coombs, who has garnered significant criticism in the full-time role.
Rick Neuheisel on XM said the chatter in the coaches circle is that Ryan Day has been reaching outside his defensive staff for guidance on how to right the ship. That includes multiple conversations with Greg Mattison.
— jbook™ (@jbook37) September 23, 2021
Ohio State went nearly down to the wire in their season-opener against Minnesota, winning 45-31. But they then unraveled against Oregon, losing to the Ducks, 35-28.
Last week, they played Tulsa, a middling Group of Five team, and took ages to get the offense going. They couldn’t pull away by more than a touchdown until the second half.
As a result, Ohio State’s ranking has plummeted to 10th – their lowest of Ryan Day’s tenure.
Something has to be done, or Ohio State might be watching the College Football Playoff from home.
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