Ohio State Football: Buckeyes’ Hire of Chris Ash Brilliant Move to Help Defense

Urban Meyer is serious about getting the best and brightest available on his staff. Not only did he hire ex-Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson, on Thursday the Buckeyes made the hire of former Wisconsin and Arkansas defensive coordinator Chris Ash official.

Rumors of Ash’s hire surfaced nearly 10 days ago, based on a report by SI.com’s Pete Thamel, yet nothing was said by Ohio State or Urban Meyer until Thursday.

It’s a hire made possible thanks to former co-defensive coordinator Everett Withers’ departure from Ohio State for the head coaching job at James Madison.

Some thought with Withers leaving that Luke Fickell or someone new coming in would become the defensive coordinator, especially given the struggles of the Ohio State defense in the past few years.

However, making Ash the co-defensive coordinator and allowing him to focus on the secondary, his area of expertise as a position coach, is a brilliant move.

It becomes even more brilliant when you see what Meyer is doing across the board with his defensive staff. In the same SI.com report, the rumored hire of former Penn State defensive line coach Larry Johnson was said to have been accepted.

Those moves indicate Meyer knows he has the resources available and the need to get the best coaches available to right the ship on defense.

After seeing his secondary, one that included a returning All-American in Bradley Roby, get torched repeatedly throughout…

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