JD PicKell: Ohio State defense will play more aggressively in 2022

Ohio State was a good team in 2021, but by their standards, that was a disappointment. As Ryan Day has pointed out, a good season at Ohio State includes beating Michigan, winning the Big Ten, and winning a national championship. They weren’t able to accomplish any of those things, and it was largely due to having a disappointing defense.
On3’s J.D. PicKell explained why he thinks the Ohio State defense will be better and more aggressive in 2022 on The Hard Count.
“The question mark for, I think, the multitude of national outlets was what’s this defense going to look like?” J.D. PicKell said.
The feeling at Ohio State was that the 2021 team wasted a national championship-caliber offense because of the defense. Now, a lot of those players are coming back. The Buckeyes can’t waste their offense again and need to show enough improvement on defense to accomplish their season goals.
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“You go out and get the mad scientist of college football defenses in Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State. It’s a Cornell guy, worth mentioning. They’re really excited about what he’s going to bring to the table,” PicKell said.
The defense is feeling that excitement in Fall camp. It’s a different atmosphere than in previous seasons. Part of that excitement comes from having the opportunity to be aggressive on defense. Now, Ryan Day says they’re a top-10 defense and defensive-line coach Larry Johnson says Ohio State is 12-deep on the line.
“So, for this Ohio State defense to be making it a battle [in practice], and to push this offense to win some reps defensively, that should tell you, okay. We’re starting to get some momentum here.”