Skull Session: Ryan Day Wanted Kerry Coombs to Stay, Don't Cover Garrett Wilson One-on-One, and Michigan State Wasn't Ready For Joey Brunk

By Kevin Harrish on March 4, 2022 at 5:30a

In case y'all were wondering why Ohio State seemed to be playing with a little more juice last night, perhaps it was because Buckeye royalty was in the building.

Word of the Day: Indubitable.

 STAY, STAY, STAY. Kerry Coombs' stint as Ohio State's defensive coordinator may not have gone too well, but let's not forget about those six years when he was arguably the best defensive backs coach in the country.

Ryan Day remembers. And he remembers so fondly that he didn't want Coombs to leave Columbus – he wanted him to stay and be the Buckeyes' cornerbacks coach.

Q: Kerry was a great cornerbacks coach. Was there any thought to bringing him back as a cornerbacks coach?

A: Yes. Absolutely. He’s an Ohio State guy and Ohio guy. Unbelievable amount of respect for one of the better cornerback coaches in the country. As we tried to put this defensive staff together, the first thing I had to do was find a coordinator to run the show. I felt like Jim was the right guy for that, and then fit the pieces in based on what we had, and it just didn't quite work out (for Kerry). But I would have loved to see him stay. But that's just kind of how it all shook out with it with the structure of the staff.

I'm assuming "didn't quite work out" means that Coombs really didn't like the idea of getting demoted and working under a new, outside defensive coordinator when he could simply go back to his old hometown and work under the coach he had the most success partnering with the first five years he was at Ohio State – which mans all the sense in the world.

From Ohio State's perspective, the Buckeyes got a coach that just turned two dudes that weren't even top-1,000 prospects into first-round picks, and another coach who Jalen Ramsey called "the best DB coach I've ever seen in my life."

Sad as it is to see that sentient can of Red Bull go, I think both parties will be just fine.

 MAN COVERAGE KILLER. Putting Garrett Wilson in one-on-one coverage is an extremely bold move by the defense. And, as you might imagine, it's one that defenses pretty unanimously paid dearly for every time they tried.

My first thought was, "who the hell would even consider leaving him in one-on-one coverage in the first place?" And then I realized that Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba also exist and that doubling all three of them on a given play would require more than half of your defensive players.

Folks, I think I'm beginning to understand why Ohio State's offense was so unstoppable last year.

 THE JOEY BRUNK GAME. If Joey Brunk's inclusion in the starting lineup, much less his near-career performance, was surprising to *you* last night, imagine how Sparty felt.

Only, we don't have to imagine. They told us exactly how they felt – and it wasn't good!

Here's hoping we've got ourselves a Postseason Keyshawn Woods situation here. I'm gonna need to see more of this.

 GOAL LINE PACKAGE? Ohio State seems to just attract elite receivers – even if those receivers happen to actually play defensive end.

Kevin Wilson does need himself some help at tight end after Jeremy Ruckert's departure...

As cool as this would be, I will be furious if true a true freshman strolls in and gets a touchdown thrown his way before Dawand Jones.

 SONG OF THE DAY. "Die For You" by Justin Bieber ft Dominic Fike.

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