Latest / Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning / What Does Matt Patricia Want To See During The Ohio State Spring Game?
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Friday, April eleventh, I'm
- 0:03Speaker 1: your host, tom or the Texas game in one hundred
- 0:05Speaker 1: and forty one days the game against Michigan in two
- 0:07Speaker 1: hundred and thirty two days. If you're planning your next event,
- 0:10Speaker 1: make it unforgettable with Grateful Grittel, Columbus's favorite food truck
- 0:14Speaker 1: serving up smashburger scoremet sandwiches, and good vibes. Book your
- 0:17Speaker 1: catering today at gratefulgriddeloh dot com. We will be back
- 0:22Speaker 1: inside the Horseshoe on Friday morning where the final pre
- 0:26Speaker 1: spring game practice that Buckeyes will be working out in
- 0:30Speaker 1: front of the Ohio High School Coaches Association, obviously a
- 0:33Speaker 1: very very big turnout of high school coaches. And then
- 0:36Speaker 1: Brian Day and his coaching staff will put on their
- 0:38Speaker 1: coaches clinic a little later on in the day and
- 0:40Speaker 1: that's a traditional pre spring game thing. It's given me
- 0:43Speaker 1: be a very busy weekend inside the Woody Hayes Athletic
- 0:45Speaker 1: Center between recruiting visits and the coaches clinic and all
- 0:48Speaker 1: that stuff. We'll have plenty of coverage of all of
- 0:50Speaker 1: that for you that Friday morning for you coming from
- 0:53Speaker 1: the horseshoe, we'll hover an instant reaction. Show just started
- 0:58Speaker 1: talking about what we saw there. And then, of course
- 1:00Speaker 1: is the spring game. Plenty of plenty of coverage all
- 1:03Speaker 1: day long there as well, So lot's coming up in
- 1:06Speaker 1: the next couple of days. But before we get to
- 1:08Speaker 1: all that, I wanted to let you hear one more
- 1:10Speaker 1: time from new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. He's been one
- 1:13Speaker 1: of the big stories of the spring. It was his
- 1:16Speaker 1: hiring in and of itself was kind of a big story.
- 1:18Speaker 1: And then he's sort of bringing what you know, what
- 1:20Speaker 1: is he bringing that's new, What is he bringing that's
- 1:22Speaker 1: going to be sort of maintaining some status quo from
- 1:25Speaker 1: the Jymnules year years. We'll be talking about all that
- 1:29Speaker 1: kind of stuff. Let you hear directly from Matt Patricia.
- 1:32Speaker 1: He had some very interesting stuff to say this week.
- 1:34Speaker 1: But before we get into all that, just what is
- 1:37Speaker 1: Matt Patricia looking for from the defense during the spring
- 1:40Speaker 1: game on Saturday.
- 1:42Speaker 2: I mean, I'm looking for a lot of things. Actually,
- 1:44Speaker 2: I'm pretty excited, Like let's get in the shoe, let's
- 1:45Speaker 2: get the fans there, let's feel the environment, the energy,
- 1:49Speaker 2: just getting a little bit of that last Saturday with
- 1:51Speaker 2: everybody kind of in the indoor, that excitement. I think
- 1:53Speaker 2: that's that's fun, you know, I mean, we're getting that
- 1:56Speaker 2: feel for it. So I'm excited to see the fans.
- 1:59Speaker 2: I'm excited to get the I think one of the
- 2:01Speaker 2: things defensively, you're always trying to, you know, practice in
- 2:04Speaker 2: these situations communication, right, So it's it's always gonna be
- 2:07Speaker 2: hard at home for us to communicate because our fans
- 2:09Speaker 2: are great and it's going to be lowed for the opponent,
- 2:11Speaker 2: which is what we want. So our communication has to
- 2:13Speaker 2: be on point, our recognition has to be on point.
- 2:16Speaker 2: I think, you know, this is obviously new for me,
- 2:18Speaker 2: not having like in a while, having preseason games, right,
- 2:21Speaker 2: so the next time we go in that stadium to play,
- 2:23Speaker 2: it's for real. So just our overall operation coaching staff
- 2:26Speaker 2: to make sure we're communicating well, make sure we're getting
- 2:29Speaker 2: substitutions and personnel groups and all of that. Like, this
- 2:32Speaker 2: is a good opportunity for us to get a drive
- 2:34Speaker 2: run at that before you know, we get to that
- 2:35Speaker 2: first game, so that's really important. And then you know,
- 2:38Speaker 2: of course we want to see everybody compete, you know,
- 2:39Speaker 2: in the different positions and the different opportunities that everybody
- 2:41Speaker 2: has to go out and you know, get a chance
- 2:44Speaker 2: to look at that tape and get another evaluation of
- 2:46Speaker 2: where they're at. So there's a lot it's it's it's
- 2:48Speaker 2: gonna be great. I can't you know, let's go. It's
- 2:50Speaker 2: gonna be awesome.
- 2:51Speaker 1: When Patricia got to Ohio State, how much did he
- 2:54Speaker 1: just sort of look at Caleb Downs and just kind
- 2:56Speaker 1: of start dreaming about all the different things you could
- 2:58Speaker 1: do with the player intelligent and that talented. And then
- 3:02Speaker 1: how also how about someone like Jermaine Matthews, because we've
- 3:05Speaker 1: seen them moving him around quite a bit as well
- 3:07Speaker 1: from outside and then also in the slot the spring.
- 3:10Speaker 2: I mean, when you have pieces like Caleb and guys
- 3:12Speaker 2: at that football knowledge that he has and his instincts,
- 3:16Speaker 2: and it's been great the more that he's kind of
- 3:18Speaker 2: been out there to really watch him on the field
- 3:20Speaker 2: and how he moves, how he deciphers the game and
- 3:22Speaker 2: how he sees it. He loved those type of players
- 3:25Speaker 2: for sure, you know, and being able to relate that
- 3:26Speaker 2: to some things that we can do with him and
- 3:28Speaker 2: put him in those positions is It's fun. It's fun.
- 3:31Speaker 2: He's he's dynamic. Now, I mean this guy is he's smart. Uh,
- 3:34Speaker 2: he plays extremely aggressive, he can he really knows the
- 3:38Speaker 2: offense well, you know, so like based on whether it's
- 3:40Speaker 2: formation or split, like he's id and everything, and he
- 3:43Speaker 2: does a great job of communicating on the field. So
- 3:45Speaker 2: he's been a lot of fun for sure. Jermaine. I mean,
- 3:48Speaker 2: super competitive guy, guy who's got great ability speed, quickness,
- 3:51Speaker 2: and then that position flex to be able to go
- 3:53Speaker 2: outside inside and some of the things that we do
- 3:55Speaker 2: coverage wise, where these guys are actually playing in a
- 3:57Speaker 2: couple different positions, you know, just based on form and
- 4:00Speaker 2: motions and things like that. It's been pretty impressive, you know,
- 4:02Speaker 2: with his skill set to be able to do all that.
- 4:04Speaker 2: So it's been fun. That group is That group is
- 4:08Speaker 2: a lot of fun. They are dynamic, they have a
- 4:10Speaker 2: lot of talent, They are competitive as all get out,
- 4:14Speaker 2: and it's fun because you know, I mean, I don't
- 4:16Speaker 2: think I've ever seen wide receivers this big like all
- 4:18Speaker 2: is a group. I Mean it's like every time I'm like,
- 4:20Speaker 2: can you rush? Like how big?
- 4:21Speaker 1: Like?
- 4:21Speaker 2: I mean, these guys are These guys are genormous. You know,
- 4:24Speaker 2: I think they're edge setters. But to have that competition
- 4:26Speaker 2: every single day and to be able to go out
- 4:28Speaker 2: there and watch our guys step up to that challenge,
- 4:30Speaker 2: it's pretty awesome.
- 4:32Speaker 1: Patricia has a somewhat unique experience in terms of winning championships.
- 4:36Speaker 1: He's won three Super Bowls with the Patriots as an
- 4:39Speaker 1: assistant coach under Bill Belichick. So this is not a
- 4:41Speaker 1: brand new thing for him in terms of, Okay, now
- 4:44Speaker 1: you've won the won the championship one year, Now you
- 4:46Speaker 1: got to go do it another year. So he was
- 4:48Speaker 1: asked about the response from the Ohio State players and
- 4:51Speaker 1: Caleb Downs in particular asking the coaching staff to take
- 4:54Speaker 1: down some of the championship banners and the other stuff
- 4:56Speaker 1: that was sort of hanging and hanging around the facility.
- 5:00Speaker 2: I think it's a really mature approach by them, right.
- 5:02Speaker 2: I think it's something that was I think one of
- 5:04Speaker 2: the great things about football. Whatever level you're at, it's
- 5:07Speaker 2: different than other sports. You know, it's different then it's
- 5:10Speaker 2: different than boxing. You know, like when you win a
- 5:12Speaker 2: championship in boxing, the next time you step in the
- 5:14Speaker 2: ring you step in is the champion. You have to
- 5:16Speaker 2: defend your title. You know, when you win a championship
- 5:18Speaker 2: in football, the next time you step on the field,
- 5:21Speaker 2: it's something new. It's a new season, it's a new team.
- 5:23Speaker 2: You have to start over. You know, you're not defending anything.
- 5:26Speaker 2: What you won, you won like that can't be taken
- 5:27Speaker 2: away from you. You know, that was last season. So
- 5:29Speaker 2: I think it's a really mature approach by them for
- 5:32Speaker 2: you know, sit there and say, hey, look, it's it's
- 5:33Speaker 2: about going forward. You know, we can't look back. It's
- 5:35Speaker 2: about going forward. It's about building the journey this year
- 5:38Speaker 2: to try to get back to where we want to be.
- 5:40Speaker 2: But you have to start all over again, you know,
- 5:42Speaker 2: and you got to start at the bottom. So that's
- 5:43Speaker 2: it's a great that's a great mentality.
- 5:45Speaker 1: Another one kind of dealing with Caleb Downs. Downs has
- 5:49Speaker 1: not played a ton this spring. He's been sort of
- 5:51Speaker 1: limited and hit plenty of plenty of time on the field.
- 5:54Speaker 1: He took the most snaps of anyone on the Ohio
- 5:56Speaker 1: State team last year, so that you knew it was
- 5:57Speaker 1: gonna be sort of a light spring for him. But
- 5:59Speaker 1: what that is done is that has opened up playing
- 6:01Speaker 1: time for Malik Hartford and Jalen McClain to guys who
- 6:05Speaker 1: are fighting to be the guy who plays next to
- 6:06Speaker 1: Caleb Downs during the season. So what has what has
- 6:10Speaker 1: Matt mactrisi as seen from that competition between Lake, Hartford,
- 6:13Speaker 1: Jail and McClain for that starting safety spot opposite Caleb Downs.
- 6:18Speaker 2: You know, I think it's been really good with both
- 6:20Speaker 2: those guys learning and competing and playing a couple of
- 6:22Speaker 2: different roles, you know, a couple different spots, and Caleb
- 6:25Speaker 2: is out there for some things, you know, and there's
- 6:28Speaker 2: other things that we're holding them back on. So they've
- 6:30Speaker 2: actually had an opportunity to both be out there quite
- 6:32Speaker 2: a bit and really to be able to evaluate the
- 6:34Speaker 2: different things that they can do skill set wise. You know,
- 6:36Speaker 2: I think there's some different packages that we can run
- 6:38Speaker 2: with those guys on the field and different alignments that
- 6:41Speaker 2: they could be in. So it's just a great evaluation
- 6:43Speaker 2: right now of seeing you know, some deep field play,
- 6:46Speaker 2: some down in the box play, some maybe a man
- 6:48Speaker 2: demand coverage stuff with them. We've got some different things
- 6:50Speaker 2: in like that intermediate zone where they're kind of reading
- 6:52Speaker 2: routes and breaking and I would say both are really
- 6:55Speaker 2: shining and showing their skill sets that we can utilize
- 6:57Speaker 2: them in those situations.
- 6:59Speaker 1: Another young player who's come on very strong this spring
- 7:02Speaker 1: is Peyton Pierce, second year linebacker out of Texas. He
- 7:05Speaker 1: was very, very impressive when we got a chance to
- 7:07Speaker 1: watch the student appreciation practice last weekend, and seems like
- 7:11Speaker 1: Matt Patricia is pretty impressed with him as well. So
- 7:14Speaker 1: what do is Matt Patricia like about Peyton Pierce?
- 7:16Speaker 2: You know, one thing about Peyton Pierce right away, like
- 7:18Speaker 2: we go to inside drill or anything like, everyone's gonna
- 7:20Speaker 2: feel Peyton Pierce right away. He comes downhill with a
- 7:23Speaker 2: physicality that is, it's phenomenal like he is. He is
- 7:27Speaker 2: a physical, physical player. I think. One of the other
- 7:29Speaker 2: things on top of that. You know, So he's doing
- 7:31Speaker 2: a great job with all that he's but the build
- 7:34Speaker 2: on that his communications command linebacker. You have to be
- 7:37Speaker 2: able to get in there, call the huddle, make sure
- 7:38Speaker 2: we get adjustments right, get the front correct, communicate with
- 7:41Speaker 2: the back end. And I think that's the piece of
- 7:42Speaker 2: it right now for me that's really improved through the
- 7:44Speaker 2: spring is just his overall command understanding of the defense
- 7:47Speaker 2: and then his communication to get everybody, you know, kind
- 7:50Speaker 2: of set and lined up and ready to go. It's
- 7:51Speaker 2: been good.
- 7:52Speaker 1: Patricia has coached in college before, but it's been a
- 7:55Speaker 1: couple decades, so this has been very different for guy
- 7:58Speaker 1: who's used to the NFL and where a guy gets
- 8:00Speaker 1: hurt or a guy you maybe think, hey, we may
- 8:03Speaker 1: need to supplement the roster just bringing a guy on waivers.
- 8:06Speaker 1: You can do that anytime you want, just you know,
- 8:09Speaker 1: bring someone in on waivers and you know, in any
- 8:12Speaker 1: week you want to do it, you can do it.
- 8:13Speaker 1: So now this after the transfer portal window closes following
- 8:17Speaker 1: the spring, that's it. You kind of got what you got.
- 8:19Speaker 1: So how much of a challenge does that present?
- 8:22Speaker 2: I think you always want to develop players. I think
- 8:23Speaker 2: that's the best thing to do within a system is
- 8:25Speaker 2: to try to you know, you want to grow, groom them,
- 8:27Speaker 2: you want to grow them, you want to increase their
- 8:29Speaker 2: skill set and their fundamentals because you know those are
- 8:31Speaker 2: the guys you're working with every single day. And it
- 8:34Speaker 2: is similar there's there's only certain times of the year,
- 8:36Speaker 2: even in the NFL where you can actually add to
- 8:38Speaker 2: your roster. So you're going to get to points where
- 8:40Speaker 2: your roster is what it is. And I think the
- 8:42Speaker 2: guys that have been able to show also position flexibility.
- 8:46Speaker 2: So whether they can move out to different techniques, whether
- 8:48Speaker 2: it's a five to a three or a three to
- 8:49Speaker 2: a shade, shade back out to a three, those are
- 8:52Speaker 2: the guys then that that's where your depth comes. So
- 8:55Speaker 2: maybe you're a guy that's maybe a backup noseguard that
- 8:59Speaker 2: you know, you'd rather have him out there and then
- 9:01Speaker 2: move the other guy out to a three technique. So
- 9:02Speaker 2: it's really kind of that structure of where those guys
- 9:04Speaker 2: can go. But I think you're always trying to develop,
- 9:07Speaker 2: you know, always trying to bring those guys along, and
- 9:09Speaker 2: you know, it's like I tell them, you know, just
- 9:10Speaker 2: just prove us right, like that's why you're here. You know,
- 9:13Speaker 2: we believe in you, like we know you can go
- 9:14Speaker 2: do it. So we're going to do everything we can
- 9:16Speaker 2: to help you, you know, achieve everything you want to
- 9:18Speaker 2: and that's going to be the best for the team.
- 9:20Speaker 2: So I think those guys are working really hard. Coach
- 9:22Speaker 2: Johnson does a great job. I mean all the drill
- 9:24Speaker 2: lerk if you gets if you get a chance to
- 9:26Speaker 2: watch Coach ja do his drill work, it's the detail
- 9:29Speaker 2: of the hand placement and the footwork and the you know,
- 9:32Speaker 2: just the coaching points that he puts them through. Those
- 9:35Speaker 2: guys are they're blessed to me in that situation to
- 9:37Speaker 2: get all that information, and then those guys are just
- 9:39Speaker 2: continually build on that and and grow. You know, as
- 9:43Speaker 2: a player. You can really see that, you know, you
- 9:44Speaker 2: can see why those guys develop every single year.
- 9:47Speaker 1: One of the areas where there's certainly been some speculation
- 9:49Speaker 1: the Buck guys maybe dipping into the transfer portal after
- 9:52Speaker 1: the spring is the defensive line, especially the depth and
- 9:55Speaker 1: the interior of that defensive line. So, you know, with
- 9:58Speaker 1: that being maybe the one of the biggest concerns on
- 10:00Speaker 1: the team right now, where has Matt Patricia seen the
- 10:03Speaker 1: most growth from the defensive line this spring?
- 10:05Speaker 2: I think the guys have done a really good job
- 10:07Speaker 2: with the multiplicity of some of the things that we're
- 10:09Speaker 2: doing right now and moving around and kind of being
- 10:12Speaker 2: in some different spots just to kind of get an
- 10:14Speaker 2: evaluation of it, you know, to see if we can
- 10:16Speaker 2: have some of that depth and put them in those alignments.
- 10:18Speaker 2: So I think that's been pretty impressive. I think our
- 10:22Speaker 2: pad level has gotten better, you know. I think that's
- 10:24Speaker 2: one of the things when you start out and you're
- 10:25Speaker 2: back in practice and you're rolling and it's the beauty
- 10:28Speaker 2: of spring. Well we actually have we have equipment on
- 10:31Speaker 2: so you actually get to evaluate this stuff and not
- 10:33Speaker 2: have to wait till training camp, which is awesome. So
- 10:35Speaker 2: we've made strides there, you know, hand placement pad level,
- 10:38Speaker 2: which is you know, leverage upfront, which is what we're
- 10:41Speaker 2: gonna need. So that would be the biggest area I've
- 10:44Speaker 2: really seen, like guys just kind of really getting better technique.
- 10:48Speaker 1: As we mentioned earlier, it has been something of a
- 10:50Speaker 1: light spring for Caleb Downs. He's been out there a
- 10:52Speaker 1: little bit but really kind of taking it easy for
- 10:54Speaker 1: the most part. So how much of an opportunity has
- 10:56Speaker 1: that presented for guys like Malitte Hartford and Jailing and
- 11:00Speaker 1: even Lee Roy Roker.
- 11:01Speaker 2: I think there's always opportunity when guys aren't on the field,
- 11:04Speaker 2: And certainly you want Caleb on the field. He's really
- 11:07Speaker 2: good and kind of help settle the communication. He's a
- 11:09Speaker 2: great player. But look, when guys aren't on the field,
- 11:11Speaker 2: it's the opportunity for someone else to go in and
- 11:13Speaker 2: step into some different roles and have an opportunity to
- 11:15Speaker 2: go make some plays and flash, you know, for the
- 11:17Speaker 2: coaches and for their teammates. I think all of those
- 11:20Speaker 2: guys you know that you mentioned have done that you know,
- 11:23Speaker 2: and have done it at different points, and now it's
- 11:25Speaker 2: just building on the consistency of that. You know. Whereas
- 11:27Speaker 2: you have a player like Caleb that has proven that
- 11:29Speaker 2: he can consistently show that kind of production in that performance,
- 11:32Speaker 2: those other guys are now having those reps to be
- 11:35Speaker 2: able to have enough, you know, built up to show that, hey,
- 11:38Speaker 2: they can do it consistently and be in the right
- 11:40Speaker 2: positions and make the communication and make the play. So
- 11:42Speaker 2: that's been the best part about it for those guys,
- 11:45Speaker 2: just having all of those reps. And you know, again
- 11:47Speaker 2: I say this one too, it's we we only have
- 11:50Speaker 2: so many games, so you have to get better at practice.
- 11:52Speaker 2: It's it's just what it is. It's different than you know,
- 11:55Speaker 2: like I said, baseball, you play games to get better. Football,
- 11:57Speaker 2: we got to practice to get better nothink. Having those
- 11:59Speaker 2: guys to be able to have those reps has been invaluable.
- 12:02Speaker 1: And finally, Patricia was asked, just in terms of the
- 12:05Speaker 1: base defense for this year, is the four two five?
- 12:08Speaker 1: Does that look the four defensive lineman, two linebackers, five
- 12:12Speaker 1: guys in the secondary, is that the best base for
- 12:15Speaker 1: his defense based on what he's seen so far. Is
- 12:17Speaker 1: he looking at losing maybe more three linebacker looks than
- 12:20Speaker 1: they have in the past. What is are his thoughts
- 12:22Speaker 1: on that?
- 12:24Speaker 2: I think you know, four, two, five or the Nickel sets.
- 12:27Speaker 2: You know, in the variations of those Nickel sets are
- 12:29Speaker 2: just so prominent in football right now because of there's
- 12:31Speaker 2: so much eleven personnel and then the twelve personnel, which
- 12:34Speaker 2: is the two tight end sets that play like eleven
- 12:36Speaker 2: or the open up formation. So you got to be
- 12:37Speaker 2: a little bit multiple to be able to do all
- 12:39Speaker 2: of that. But you know, when you got to get
- 12:41Speaker 2: in base and get into you know, three linebackers or
- 12:44Speaker 2: some version of that, you have to be able to
- 12:45Speaker 2: stop the run. And certainly that I think also picks
- 12:47Speaker 2: up critical situations, whether it's third down, low red area,
- 12:51Speaker 2: or you're just getting a big, bigger offensive personnel groups
- 12:54Speaker 2: out there. So having all of that is important. Being
- 12:56Speaker 2: able to be multiple out of the out of the
- 12:58Speaker 2: Nickel packages is you know something I think that's really
- 13:01Speaker 2: important too. And then there's different variations of those Nickel
- 13:03Speaker 2: packages that with as much talent and which is much
- 13:07Speaker 2: the guys that we have in that room. I think
- 13:08Speaker 2: we can do some of that and be versatile that way,
- 13:10Speaker 2: which would be great.
- 13:11Speaker 1: Well, we will be back at Ohio Stadium Friday morning,
- 13:14Speaker 1: get a chance to watch that final pre spring game practice,
- 13:17Speaker 1: have an instant reaction show for you following that, and
- 13:21Speaker 1: then Saturday all day long, all you've come to expect, pregame,
- 13:25Speaker 1: postgame photos, videos, all that good stuff that is all
- 13:29Speaker 1: coming to you on Saturday from the Ohio State Spring Game.
- 13:32Speaker 1: Be a lovely day. Forecast still looks like it's doing
- 13:35Speaker 1: gonna looking looking pretty good for Saturday. So if you
- 13:38Speaker 1: are out there, make sure you come say hi. And
- 13:40Speaker 1: if you're not well, make sure you come say hi
- 13:42Speaker 1: to us at puckey Huddle dot com. That's where Tony,
- 13:44Speaker 1: Kevin and I cover the team, mark coovers, recruiting. We
- 13:46Speaker 1: got our whole team effects and those gurus there as well,
- 13:48Speaker 1: all to make you a smurter football fan. That is
- 13:51Speaker 1: all with Buckeyehuddle dot Com. That'll do it for today.
- 13:53Speaker 1: Thank you guys all for joining us. Have a great day.
- 13:55Speaker 1: We'll talk to you tomorrow.