Ohio State football: Washington staying shows strong OSU culture

With the news that Al Washington will stay with the Buckeyes, it shows how strong of a culture that the Ohio State football team possess.

The Ohio State football team was on the verge of losing a second defensive coach this offseason. Co-Defensive Coordinator Greg Mattison retired and Linebackers Coach Al Washington was reached out to by Tennessee about taking their Defensive Coordinator job.

Washington has officially decided to turn down the job and stay in Columbus. Turning down a promotion like that shows the culture that Ohio State has built and just how strong it is. Washington could easily have left but decided to stay in Columbus.

Despite Tennessee offering Washington more money and a big promotion, he stayed at Ohio State. Washington clearly loves working with Ryan Day as his boss. No wonder all of these high-profile recruits want to play for Day as well.

Not only does this show how strong the culture is at Ohio State, but it shows what a dumpster fire Tennessee is right now. Tennessee has been a complete mess. They fired their coach due to recruiting violations, they’re about to be on probation, and they don’t have good prospects of winning a large number of games.

The Buckeyes need someone like Washington on their staff too. Washington is a good coach and a stellar recruiter. A recruiter of his caliber is exceptionally valuable to have on staff. The Buckeyes have the best recruiting class in the country for 2022.

Part of that class are a couple of really good linebackers in Gabe Powers and C.J. Hicks, both of whom are four-star kids. Washington was instrumental in recruiting both of them. He has shown himself to be one of the best recruiters in the country over the course of his career.

Ohio State’s culture is strong. It’s so strong that it might just lead to a national title very soon.