Ohio State Football: Is new defense too complicated?

The Ohio State football team will have a new defense this season after hiring Jim Knowles. It’s something that has been giving the offense fits so far in Spring practice. It’s a much more complicated defense than the Buckeyes were running the last two years.

The defense that Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes were running last season was fairly simple. It was designed so that players didn’t have to think too much, they could just react to what was happening on the field. It was a contrast to what Greg Schiano’s defense was before him, which was very complicated.

People were concerned that Schiano’s defense was too complicated and it slowed the Buckeyes down because players were thinking too much. Now, Knowles’ defense is also complicated. Are the Buckeyes running the risk of making things too complicated again?

Knowles wants the offense to have to think more than the defense. He wants his defense to dictate what the offense can do, not the other way around. That’s good, but you also want your players to be able to fly around without having too many thoughts bogging them down.

So far, it looks like the defense is getting rave reviews from those at practice. I hope it’s able to stay that way. I’m in the camp that the defense can’t possibly be worse than what it was the last two seasons. It’s what kept Ohio State from winning a national championship in 2020.

If Knowles is able to institute a defense that can help this team win more games and be a true national title, I’m all for it no matter how complicated the defense is. I just want to make sure that players are able to react instead of over-thinking situations.