Five Things: A collection of data points that helped shape the 2021 Ohio State football season.
Ryan Day's third season at the helm finished with Ohio State failing to make the CFP or win the Big Ten title, thanks to losses against Oregon and Michigan, but his program finished on a high note with a 48-45 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.
Like a lot of folks, I was certainly surprised we didn't hear more about possible staff changes on the defensive side of the ball before we heard Day had fired offensive line coach Greg Studrawa following six seasons at Ohio State. I guess you can note Ohio State did average more yards per carry against all those teams, except Michigan, than they allowed per carry on the season but the fact is, Day couldn't definitively count on the running game against better defenses.
Obviously Day's had enough of underperforming defense considering he demoted Kerry Coombs from his defensive coordinator role after two games and the interim playcaller is already en route to Memphis as its new DC, paving the way for Day to bring in Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles for a small fee of $1.9 million per year.
A quick turnaround certainly isn't impossible. The 2019 defense orchestrated by Jeff Hafley finished No. 4 in scoring defense and No. 1 in total defense after the 2018 edition championed by Greg Schiano slotted No. 50 in scoring defense and No. 71 in total defense .I know fans are most excited to see Marvin Harrison Jr. alongside Smith-Njigba next year - I am too - but I'm not sleeping on Emeka Egbuka for one second.
Egbuka ranked No. 2 in the country with eight kickoff returns of at least 30 yards and No. 7 with three going for at least 40 yards. He had a long of 67 and had a 75-yarder called back in the Rose Bowl.KICKS JUST KEEP GETTING HARDER TO FIND
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