OSU examined pass rush problems on bye week

Oct. 22—COLUMBUS — Ohio State football coach Ryan Day spent more time than usual in the defensive coaches’ meetings last week during a bye week and a major topic of discussion in those meetings was the Buckeyes’ pass rush.

OSU did not have a sack in a 32-31 loss to Oregon in its most recent game and did not apply pressure to the Ducks’ quarterback Dillon Gabriel with any consistency.

“I’m not happy with anything right now but certainly we want to get more pressure on the quarterback, there’s no question,” Day said on Tuesday at his weekly press conference to preview OSU’s game against Nebraska on Saturday.

“I was definitely in there (defensive meetings) more than I have been in the past. Ultimately, it’s my job to make sure all three phases of the game are the way they’re supposed to be,” he said.

Former Alabama coach Nick Saban described Ohio State’s four-man pass rush as antiquated last week and Day’s qualified agreement with that description might indicate how distressed he is about his team’s lack of pressure on quarterbacks.

“When it doesn’t work it (Saban’s description) is accurate and it isn’t working. When you have the results we have now it’s certainly not working and that has to change,” Day said.

“It was a long week for all of us. We spent a lot of hours in here (the Woody Hayes Athletic Center) talking about it. You sit on it, you chew on it and eventually, you move on.

“Our goal is to put the four best rushers in the game. Might we consider some different fronts and maybe changing it up? I feel like we have plenty of defensive linemen and we have the right guys on the field. But we have to make sure we are changing it up and it isn’t just a four-man rush all the time,” he said.

Day also alluded to the internet chatter that defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and legendary defensive line coach Larry Johnson…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/osu-examined-pass-rush-problems-233300815.html

Author : The Lima News, Ohio

Publish date : 2024-10-22 23:33:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.