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COLUMBUS, Ohio — There’s a routine to Wednesday nights at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. With the afternoon sun still overlooking a trifecta of football fields, Ohio State steps outside to practice for the week’s opponent. Once that concludes and the sun begins to set over the adjacent softball stadium, most players head back toward the locker room while others sit behind microphones to answer questions from reporters. The fields, both indoor and outdoor, are often empty by the time the select players are done speaking. However, a handful of Buckeyes often linger around – sometimes putting in extra work, other times just to hang out among themselves. Matt Patricia, Ohio State’s first-year defensive coordinator, is often alongside them, regardless of who the players are. Latest Ohio State Buckeyes news How Ohio State football is preparing for a rule change centered around gambling: Buckeye Breakfast Penn State’s season has fallen apart, but these 7 players could still give Ohio State trouble this weekend Haynes King, the coaching market and the Winners and losers from College Football Week 9 Ohio State’s Ryan Day outlines his bye week: Corn mazes, AI and a funny Halloween-themed story He’ll entertain Caleb Downs while the All-American safety is juggling. He’ll talk with receiver Jeremiah Smith as the future first-round pick prepares for another week of terrorizing Big Ten defenses. He’ll sit with linebacker Sonny Styles as the team captain approaches the end of his collegiate career. To understand why Ohio State’s Ryan Day called Patricia a “home run” hire, one must look beyond statistics. These moments — whether in front of reporters after a practice or behind closed doors after a tough day outside the facility — provide valuable context to what many want to know this week. How did Ohio State lose defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Penn State and still win the break-up? The Buckeyes have spent their Wednesday nights providing the answer, and it has just as much to do with relationship-building as it does Xs and Os. “He’s a players’ coach first,” cornerback Aaron Scott said. “He’s going to make sure you’re good. If you’re not doing what you need to do on the field and you’re going through something, he’s going to make sure he’s going to look after you.” Matt Patricia has changed the narrative surrounding him Day described Knowles’ departure from Ohio State as abrupt. After three seasons with the Buckeyes, the Philadelphia native elected to leave for a Big Ten rival. Contract disputes were seemingly at the heart of the fallout, with Penn State electing to make Knowles the highest-paid assistant coach in the sport while Ohio State sat just below the asking price. It left Day in an awkward spot fresh off OSU’s championship celebration inside Ohio Stadium. The search for Knowles’ replacement went into mid-February — an odd time in the college football coaching carousel. That’s when Patricia’s name emerged, raising some eyebrows across the sports’ landscape. Patricia fit the criteria. Ohio State’s DC is supposed to be the head coach of the defense? Patricia previously served as a head coach for the Lions. Ohio State wants people with championship pedigree? Patricia won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. College football is moving closer toward the NFL? Patricia has managed seasons of 16 or more games and handled players getting paid. Reservations extended off the field, though. Patricia spent much of his coaching career working under Bill Belichick — someone who, particularly toward the end of his tenure with the Patriots, wasn’t known for getting along with people. News clippings also resurfaced from Patricia’s time with the Lions where players such as Darius Slay and A’Shawn Robinson ripped their coach, though the former later squashed his beef with Patricia. Pundits wondered how Patricia, who hadn’t coached collegiate football since 2003, would fit. What they didn’t know was Patricia’s plan. “When he got in here, he had a certain list of things he wanted to get done early on,” Day said. “I think he’s done that. He’s let his personality go, which has been great.” Returning players, such as linebacker Payton Pierce, took notice. “It was a lot different than the previous defensive coordinator,” Pierce said. “I talked to Patricia more probably his first two days here than I did with our defensive coordinator my whole time being here.” He became someone players could lean on. “It’s an open space with him,” Scott said. “I feel like that’s why everybody likes him a lot. You know you can come to him if you have any questions or anything.” How Matt Patricia has helped Buckeyes across the depth chart Kenyatta Jackson’s stat line hasn’t lived up to the preseason billing of a player with All-Big Ten aspirations. With Ohio State entering its final five games of the regular season, Jackson has 2.5 sacks and nine tackles. However, his numbers don’t tell the full story of what Jackson has accomplished. Ohio State often faced mobile quarterbacks in the first half of its season. That meant it was just as important for Ohio State’s defensive ends to cage the quarterback as it was for them to collect sacks. Jackson said he did as he was told, which limited his usage of pass-rush moves. Entering an Oct. 18 game at Wisconsin, Jackson said publicly he felt there was an untapped level to his game – a conversation he felt comfortable having with Patricia as well. “Our relationship is great,” Jackson said. “It’s through the roof. When I came up to him and we had those conversations, he was cool with it.” Others sense that same level of mutual respect. “He’s always asking us how we’re feeling, how we’re doing, if we have any questions on certain defenses that he wants to do for that particular game and stuff like that,” defensive tackle Tywone Malone Jr. said. “Pretty much just being consistent with us. If we’re not having our best day, he’s always there checking up on us and making sure we’re all good.” The admiration for Patricia, perhaps most importantly, extends to the stars. Downs is utilized as arguably the best and most versatile defensive player in the country, but for things to click inside stadiums on Saturdays, there needs to be a level of camaraderie on Wednesdays. At Ohio State, there is, which has helped a stellar defense under Knowles get even better with Patricia. “I respect that man to the highest level,” Downs said.
