Welcome back for another edition of “A-Deck” at BuckeyeGrove.com, where I’ll bring you thoughts, what I’m hearing, inside scoop, tidbits, and more for Ohio State recruiting and team coverage, every Wednesday.
Last week’s “A-Deck” took a deep dive into what to expect from the Buckeyes’ defense this coming season. This week we return with some thoughts on the 2019 Ohio State team a couple weeks into fall camp, as well as how the new coaching staff is meshing.
CAMP THOUGHTS
After sharing some pre-camp thoughts from various team sources the last two weeks, we checked back in with a number of those to get their thoughts on the 2019 Buckeyes now that we’re about two weeks into camp.
SECONDARY: “As you heard, the secondary has been making an impact early on in camp, and that was especially true in the scrimmage on Saturday. [Damon] Arnette and [Jeff] Okudah have been lockdown on the outside, but the guy who has been popping throughout camp has been Sevyn Banks. Like Shaun Wade last year, Banks is taking some big steps forward and it may be very hard to keep him off the field. Outside of his defensive responsibilities, he’s taken on a big role on special teams, including on the punt block ‘Dream Team’, which will always bode well for him when it comes to playing time consideration. [Jordan] Fuller is the one-high safety, obviously, and it’s a battle of all battles behind him for who is up next.”
DEFENSIVE LINE: “[Tommy] Togiai has looked really good thus far, and they ask him to hold back a little bit in fear that he could hurt someone. Strongest guy on the team, if you ask me. I still think BB Landers and Davon Hamilton are the starters when the team takes the field on August 31, but LJ is going to rotate a lot of guys on the line again this year, especially at tackle. Note for the future, I’m liking what I see from Javontae Jean-Baptiste. The transformation there is almost complete, and I think he’ll show flashes this year in garbage time and break out in 2020.”
LINEBACKER: “It’s still status quo to me as far as the starters go [Malik Harrison, Tuf Borland, Pete Werner], but I’m watching [Teradja] Mitchell closely, as he looks good. I think it’s Tuf’s defense, though, as he’s finally healthy and has made a big jump in speed and agility from last year. He’s playing more loose and more confident in the new defensive scheme, too. A guy who has surprised us in a good way is Baron [Browning]. I think he and Mitchell would start almost anywhere else in the conference, and maybe the country. They should both play a bunch, but as of now I don’t think they have starting jobs. [K’Vaughan] Pope has had a couple of pick sixes so far, including one in the scrimmage on Saturday. Nothing crazy standing out otherwise on him, but he’s been solid and shown the development you want to see in a second-year guy. Overall, linebacker was a position I was worried about coming out of last year, but I’m not anymore. Two other guys I’ll mention here are [Brendon] White and [Jahsen] Wint, at bullet. I think that will be White’s job—I should say I’ll be really surprised if it’s not—but Wint is a natural fit for this position and is playing really well right now, which will help a ton with depth and rotation to keep guys fresh. White is the guy though and is playing with a ton of confidence. He looks great out there.”
OFFENSIVE LINE: “[Branden] Bowen has surprised me and many others so far this camp. We will see how his leg holds up, but I see him winning the right tackle job, and I had [Joshua] Alabias the favorite going into camp. It looks like Alabi will be the swing tackle who comes in for either Bowen or [Thayer] Munford should they go down, with [Nick] Petit[-Frer] also there as well. I think the staff really wanted NPF to seize the right tackle job, but he hasn’t. Munford, [Jonah] Jackson, [Josh] Myers, [Wyatt] Davis, and Bowen are your five top linemen right now, and I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the starting unit against FAU. Speaking of Jackson, we knew he’d be good, but he’s a stud. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t end up being at least a mid-round pick. He’s got All-Big Ten First Team potential. Myers is and has been dominant. He’s a bulldozer coming off the line, and at times has looked like the best lineman on the team.”
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END: “[Chris] Olave may be the best all-around receiver on the team thus far, but it’s a discussion because K.J. [Hill] doesn’t drop anything, and has become an elite blocker. Olave is way more dynamic with the ball, though. Outside of the regulars you hear about, one guy who has stepped up is [Jaylen] Harris. He’s really solid and he’s making a play to get meaningful snaps this year. They’ve asked Ellijah Gardiner to step up as well, but he’s not as consistent as Harris is. [Garrett] Wilson makes some mental errors that you’d expect a young receiver to make, but he’s got the highest upside of any skill player on the team, and he’s the most physically gifted kid in that room. He made a couple of ‘wow’ catches throughout camp and in the scrimmage, but he’s also lined up in the wrong place a few times as well. He’s in line to see some real big time minutes, though. I still think Binjimin Victor is going to have a big year. He has that inconsistency that I hoped would go away at this point, but when he's on, he's on, and I think we'll see more of that this year versus the past. The guy I like at tight end is [Jeremy] Ruckert. He’s been up and down so far, but he flashes some serious ball skills and range as a pass catcher. He needs to continue to work on becoming a better blocker, no doubt about that, but if it was my call, he’d be playing a bunch and have a real role in this offense.”
RUNNING BACK: “To nobody’s surprise [J.K.] Dobbins has made some pretty big plays thus far in camp, despite the staff limiting his reps. He looks really good and is noticeably improved from what we saw last year. They really need [Master] Teague to get over whatever he’s dealing with, because they need him out there as the second back. Demario [McCall] has stayed healthy thus far and has shown an ability to make plays all over the field, but he’s not a between-the-tackles, every down back should Dobbins go down at any point this year. He also is still a little inconsistent and you just have to wonder when he finally puts it all together. [Marcus] Crowley runs angry, and some have even told him he needs to tone it down a bit in practice, that’s how hard he goes. I love that about him, as well as his work ethic and physicality. If he continues to do what he’s been doing, he’s going to earn some serious time behind Dobbins, especially if Teague continues to nurse his injury.”
QUARTERBACK: “[Justin] Fields is going to be the starter, but you hear Coach Day talking about how it’s still open to try and give him a kick in the butt. He did not have a great day in the scrimmage and is turning the ball over a bit too much for their liking at times. He gets in his own head a little bit—when things are going good for him, you see him making some awesome plays, but when things aren’t going so well, it spirals a bit. They’re working on that, both mechanically and mentally, but it’s going to be a work in progress to get him where he needs to be. There are two versions of Fields and when you get the good one, you’ll love him, but the other version, not so much. There’s very little in between, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they work with that as the season approaches. His running ability is an X-factor, and he’s got a ton of arm talent, but he needs to become more even keel if he wants to become the player everyone thinks he’s capable of. With little game experience, I think Day is going to have to make him comfortable early in games and in the season. Get him hot early, let him build some confidence, and then ride that. We can’t risk having him run a ton, because while [Gunnar] Hoak can be a solid back-up, he’s still learning the playbook himself, and our goals will not be met if he has to play extended time, as things currently stand. There is a huge drop-off between Field’s talent level and the rest of the guys in that room, too. They need to run plays where there isn’t a ton of post-snap reading and where Fields can get the ball out quickly. I think you’ll see a lot of RPO with pre-snap hot reads, depending on if the defense is playing one or two high. I know that Day is trying to simplify things for him, at least early in the year, so that he can think less and play fast. The jury is still out on this one and I’m not sure what to expect. There’s no doubting the talent is there--and trust me, it’s big time--it’s just how quickly they can get him operating at where he’s capable of.”
NEW STAFF NOTES
Last week, a few readers were interested in learning about what I have heard on the new coaching staff. After talking to a few sources, here’s what I’ve got on the newbies:
RYAN DAY: “The players love playing for this guy. Don’t get me wrong, they loved playing for Urban [Meyer] too, but this is different. He’s the ultimate players coach. While Meyer was feared by many, that’s not the case with Day. That said, he absolutely has their respect. The two coaches use very different tactics to drive what they’re trying to teach, and so far, both are proving to be effective. A lot of parents of players I speak to tell me how it’s still been hard, but that the guys are having a ton of fun playing for Ryan thus far.”
MIKE YURCICH: “The guys in the quarterback room like him a lot and every recruit I’ve heard from has really good things to say too. I think there was a little bit of tension and butting heads between him and a few other offensive staff members early on, but I’m told that’s a thing of the past. I think Mike is just a different dude and has some different philosophies, so like any new employee joining a team, there was an adjustment period needed. I know he’s happy to be back in Ohio, coaching here at Ohio State, and is learning a ton from Ryan [Day]. He’s bringing some new wrinkles to the system—while Ryan will be the guy calling the plays and making those decisions, it’s good to have a unique opinion in the mix.”
AL WASHINGTON: “Another guy who the players absolutely love. He’s focused on having his guys think less and play fast, which seems to be a theme across the board. While people may poke fun at what Michigan’s defense did against us last season, there are a lot of fundamental elements that were greatly needed here, especially at linebacker. Al learned a ton on that end from Don [Brown] and Greg [Mattison] during his time at Ann Arbor, and is bringing a lot of that over to the room, which again, is greatly needed. He’s an easy guy to get along with and while his returns on the trail haven’t been tangible just yet, he relates to the kids really well and his efforts will pay off in the long run.”
GREG MATTISON: “This was a huge get for Ryan. He was tasked with analyzing the defense and providing the quick fix, and that’s exactly what he’s done. He told these guys to forget all of the complex stuff they were being asked to do last year, and just simplified it. He looked at the athletes that are here on that side of the ball and basically said ‘let’s just let these guys find ball and get ball’. He’s worked closely with Jeff Hafley to reconstruct the Silver Bullets from soup to nuts, everything from scheme to responsibilities on each play to terminology to overall philosophy. It’s done wonders for these guys and I truly think you’ll see a defense that plays smarter and faster, as well as more disciplined this fall. While the assignments are simplified, it won’t be a simple defense to figure out for the offense. Greg is utilizing those athletes to his advantage and has a bunch of different looks and personnel groupings depending on situation and opponent. As a recruiter, he’s not getting his hands as dirty as some of the other guys, but they’re leveraging his relationships where they can, and he’s great with guys when they get on campus and in the room. Focus has been on fixing the defense, priority number one. He’s also helped out with the linebackers a bit, too.”
JEFF HAFLEY: “Future head coach, no doubt in my mind. I was a little worried about his ability to recruit after being in the pros for a while, but he shut me up really quick. He’s an ace out on the trail and having the NFL experience to go with his personality is a home run. On the field, he’s just a really good coach with fundamentals and some of the more technical parts of the position. Smartest thing he did was bring all of the DBs into the same room to create a cohesiveness that we’re seeing pay off in camp. He’s going to take lead the secondary, while Mattison focuses on the front 7, but they’re working in tandem and lock-step. Enjoy this guy while you can. I think we get him for two years maximum.”
MATT BARNES: “Special teams has been a big focus for Ryan, so while Matt technically is helping Hafley out with DBs, a lot of his time has been figuring out how to make special units special once again. He’s made great strides there thus far, and they’re going to spend a lot of the remaining time in camp figuring out their best personnel combos for the various units. As a recruiter and with the players, he’s a very likeable guy. He’s still ‘younger’ when it comes to his experience, so there are definitely strides that need to be made for him to be elite, but everyone likes what they are seeing thus far. He does a good job keeping in close contact with the recruits he has responsibility for, and they relate to him well. He gets along with everyone in the building, too.”
Last week’s “A-Deck” took a deep dive into what to expect from the Buckeyes’ defense this coming season. This week we return with some thoughts on the 2019 Ohio State team a couple weeks into fall camp, as well as how the new coaching staff is meshing.
CAMP THOUGHTS
After sharing some pre-camp thoughts from various team sources the last two weeks, we checked back in with a number of those to get their thoughts on the 2019 Buckeyes now that we’re about two weeks into camp.
SECONDARY: “As you heard, the secondary has been making an impact early on in camp, and that was especially true in the scrimmage on Saturday. [Damon] Arnette and [Jeff] Okudah have been lockdown on the outside, but the guy who has been popping throughout camp has been Sevyn Banks. Like Shaun Wade last year, Banks is taking some big steps forward and it may be very hard to keep him off the field. Outside of his defensive responsibilities, he’s taken on a big role on special teams, including on the punt block ‘Dream Team’, which will always bode well for him when it comes to playing time consideration. [Jordan] Fuller is the one-high safety, obviously, and it’s a battle of all battles behind him for who is up next.”
DEFENSIVE LINE: “[Tommy] Togiai has looked really good thus far, and they ask him to hold back a little bit in fear that he could hurt someone. Strongest guy on the team, if you ask me. I still think BB Landers and Davon Hamilton are the starters when the team takes the field on August 31, but LJ is going to rotate a lot of guys on the line again this year, especially at tackle. Note for the future, I’m liking what I see from Javontae Jean-Baptiste. The transformation there is almost complete, and I think he’ll show flashes this year in garbage time and break out in 2020.”
LINEBACKER: “It’s still status quo to me as far as the starters go [Malik Harrison, Tuf Borland, Pete Werner], but I’m watching [Teradja] Mitchell closely, as he looks good. I think it’s Tuf’s defense, though, as he’s finally healthy and has made a big jump in speed and agility from last year. He’s playing more loose and more confident in the new defensive scheme, too. A guy who has surprised us in a good way is Baron [Browning]. I think he and Mitchell would start almost anywhere else in the conference, and maybe the country. They should both play a bunch, but as of now I don’t think they have starting jobs. [K’Vaughan] Pope has had a couple of pick sixes so far, including one in the scrimmage on Saturday. Nothing crazy standing out otherwise on him, but he’s been solid and shown the development you want to see in a second-year guy. Overall, linebacker was a position I was worried about coming out of last year, but I’m not anymore. Two other guys I’ll mention here are [Brendon] White and [Jahsen] Wint, at bullet. I think that will be White’s job—I should say I’ll be really surprised if it’s not—but Wint is a natural fit for this position and is playing really well right now, which will help a ton with depth and rotation to keep guys fresh. White is the guy though and is playing with a ton of confidence. He looks great out there.”
OFFENSIVE LINE: “[Branden] Bowen has surprised me and many others so far this camp. We will see how his leg holds up, but I see him winning the right tackle job, and I had [Joshua] Alabias the favorite going into camp. It looks like Alabi will be the swing tackle who comes in for either Bowen or [Thayer] Munford should they go down, with [Nick] Petit[-Frer] also there as well. I think the staff really wanted NPF to seize the right tackle job, but he hasn’t. Munford, [Jonah] Jackson, [Josh] Myers, [Wyatt] Davis, and Bowen are your five top linemen right now, and I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the starting unit against FAU. Speaking of Jackson, we knew he’d be good, but he’s a stud. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t end up being at least a mid-round pick. He’s got All-Big Ten First Team potential. Myers is and has been dominant. He’s a bulldozer coming off the line, and at times has looked like the best lineman on the team.”
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END: “[Chris] Olave may be the best all-around receiver on the team thus far, but it’s a discussion because K.J. [Hill] doesn’t drop anything, and has become an elite blocker. Olave is way more dynamic with the ball, though. Outside of the regulars you hear about, one guy who has stepped up is [Jaylen] Harris. He’s really solid and he’s making a play to get meaningful snaps this year. They’ve asked Ellijah Gardiner to step up as well, but he’s not as consistent as Harris is. [Garrett] Wilson makes some mental errors that you’d expect a young receiver to make, but he’s got the highest upside of any skill player on the team, and he’s the most physically gifted kid in that room. He made a couple of ‘wow’ catches throughout camp and in the scrimmage, but he’s also lined up in the wrong place a few times as well. He’s in line to see some real big time minutes, though. I still think Binjimin Victor is going to have a big year. He has that inconsistency that I hoped would go away at this point, but when he's on, he's on, and I think we'll see more of that this year versus the past. The guy I like at tight end is [Jeremy] Ruckert. He’s been up and down so far, but he flashes some serious ball skills and range as a pass catcher. He needs to continue to work on becoming a better blocker, no doubt about that, but if it was my call, he’d be playing a bunch and have a real role in this offense.”
RUNNING BACK: “To nobody’s surprise [J.K.] Dobbins has made some pretty big plays thus far in camp, despite the staff limiting his reps. He looks really good and is noticeably improved from what we saw last year. They really need [Master] Teague to get over whatever he’s dealing with, because they need him out there as the second back. Demario [McCall] has stayed healthy thus far and has shown an ability to make plays all over the field, but he’s not a between-the-tackles, every down back should Dobbins go down at any point this year. He also is still a little inconsistent and you just have to wonder when he finally puts it all together. [Marcus] Crowley runs angry, and some have even told him he needs to tone it down a bit in practice, that’s how hard he goes. I love that about him, as well as his work ethic and physicality. If he continues to do what he’s been doing, he’s going to earn some serious time behind Dobbins, especially if Teague continues to nurse his injury.”
QUARTERBACK: “[Justin] Fields is going to be the starter, but you hear Coach Day talking about how it’s still open to try and give him a kick in the butt. He did not have a great day in the scrimmage and is turning the ball over a bit too much for their liking at times. He gets in his own head a little bit—when things are going good for him, you see him making some awesome plays, but when things aren’t going so well, it spirals a bit. They’re working on that, both mechanically and mentally, but it’s going to be a work in progress to get him where he needs to be. There are two versions of Fields and when you get the good one, you’ll love him, but the other version, not so much. There’s very little in between, so it’s going to be interesting to see how they work with that as the season approaches. His running ability is an X-factor, and he’s got a ton of arm talent, but he needs to become more even keel if he wants to become the player everyone thinks he’s capable of. With little game experience, I think Day is going to have to make him comfortable early in games and in the season. Get him hot early, let him build some confidence, and then ride that. We can’t risk having him run a ton, because while [Gunnar] Hoak can be a solid back-up, he’s still learning the playbook himself, and our goals will not be met if he has to play extended time, as things currently stand. There is a huge drop-off between Field’s talent level and the rest of the guys in that room, too. They need to run plays where there isn’t a ton of post-snap reading and where Fields can get the ball out quickly. I think you’ll see a lot of RPO with pre-snap hot reads, depending on if the defense is playing one or two high. I know that Day is trying to simplify things for him, at least early in the year, so that he can think less and play fast. The jury is still out on this one and I’m not sure what to expect. There’s no doubting the talent is there--and trust me, it’s big time--it’s just how quickly they can get him operating at where he’s capable of.”
NEW STAFF NOTES
Last week, a few readers were interested in learning about what I have heard on the new coaching staff. After talking to a few sources, here’s what I’ve got on the newbies:
RYAN DAY: “The players love playing for this guy. Don’t get me wrong, they loved playing for Urban [Meyer] too, but this is different. He’s the ultimate players coach. While Meyer was feared by many, that’s not the case with Day. That said, he absolutely has their respect. The two coaches use very different tactics to drive what they’re trying to teach, and so far, both are proving to be effective. A lot of parents of players I speak to tell me how it’s still been hard, but that the guys are having a ton of fun playing for Ryan thus far.”
MIKE YURCICH: “The guys in the quarterback room like him a lot and every recruit I’ve heard from has really good things to say too. I think there was a little bit of tension and butting heads between him and a few other offensive staff members early on, but I’m told that’s a thing of the past. I think Mike is just a different dude and has some different philosophies, so like any new employee joining a team, there was an adjustment period needed. I know he’s happy to be back in Ohio, coaching here at Ohio State, and is learning a ton from Ryan [Day]. He’s bringing some new wrinkles to the system—while Ryan will be the guy calling the plays and making those decisions, it’s good to have a unique opinion in the mix.”
AL WASHINGTON: “Another guy who the players absolutely love. He’s focused on having his guys think less and play fast, which seems to be a theme across the board. While people may poke fun at what Michigan’s defense did against us last season, there are a lot of fundamental elements that were greatly needed here, especially at linebacker. Al learned a ton on that end from Don [Brown] and Greg [Mattison] during his time at Ann Arbor, and is bringing a lot of that over to the room, which again, is greatly needed. He’s an easy guy to get along with and while his returns on the trail haven’t been tangible just yet, he relates to the kids really well and his efforts will pay off in the long run.”
GREG MATTISON: “This was a huge get for Ryan. He was tasked with analyzing the defense and providing the quick fix, and that’s exactly what he’s done. He told these guys to forget all of the complex stuff they were being asked to do last year, and just simplified it. He looked at the athletes that are here on that side of the ball and basically said ‘let’s just let these guys find ball and get ball’. He’s worked closely with Jeff Hafley to reconstruct the Silver Bullets from soup to nuts, everything from scheme to responsibilities on each play to terminology to overall philosophy. It’s done wonders for these guys and I truly think you’ll see a defense that plays smarter and faster, as well as more disciplined this fall. While the assignments are simplified, it won’t be a simple defense to figure out for the offense. Greg is utilizing those athletes to his advantage and has a bunch of different looks and personnel groupings depending on situation and opponent. As a recruiter, he’s not getting his hands as dirty as some of the other guys, but they’re leveraging his relationships where they can, and he’s great with guys when they get on campus and in the room. Focus has been on fixing the defense, priority number one. He’s also helped out with the linebackers a bit, too.”
JEFF HAFLEY: “Future head coach, no doubt in my mind. I was a little worried about his ability to recruit after being in the pros for a while, but he shut me up really quick. He’s an ace out on the trail and having the NFL experience to go with his personality is a home run. On the field, he’s just a really good coach with fundamentals and some of the more technical parts of the position. Smartest thing he did was bring all of the DBs into the same room to create a cohesiveness that we’re seeing pay off in camp. He’s going to take lead the secondary, while Mattison focuses on the front 7, but they’re working in tandem and lock-step. Enjoy this guy while you can. I think we get him for two years maximum.”
MATT BARNES: “Special teams has been a big focus for Ryan, so while Matt technically is helping Hafley out with DBs, a lot of his time has been figuring out how to make special units special once again. He’s made great strides there thus far, and they’re going to spend a lot of the remaining time in camp figuring out their best personnel combos for the various units. As a recruiter and with the players, he’s a very likeable guy. He’s still ‘younger’ when it comes to his experience, so there are definitely strides that need to be made for him to be elite, but everyone likes what they are seeing thus far. He does a good job keeping in close contact with the recruits he has responsibility for, and they relate to him well. He gets along with everyone in the building, too.”
