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A series of gaffes by Ohio State’s special teams last season culminated in January with the dismissal of the assistant tasked with coordinating them.
But instead of replacing Parker Fleming with another dedicated special teams coach, Ryan Day settled on another idea.
He opted to largely divide the responsibilities among a group of assistant coaches.
Mar 7, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches players stretch during spring football practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
The arrangement has resulted in safeties coach Matt Guerrieri and linebackers coach James Laurinaitis leading punt and kickoff and co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey working on returns as the Buckeyes go through their second week of spring practice.
The structure of the staff is new to Day, who had designated one of his 10 on-field assistants to oversee the special teams units in each of his first five seasons at the helm of the program.
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Before Fleming spent three seasons as the special teams coordinator, it was Matt Barnes who held the title in addition to safeties coach.
But eschewing one effectively allowed Day to promote Laurinaitis from his role as a graduate assistant and balance the number of assistants between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
Suggestion came from Jim Tressel
It also came at the suggestion of Jim Tressel, the former Buckeyes coach who placed an emphasis on special teams during his decade-long tenure, at times referring to the punt as the most important play in the sport.
While Tressel tapped Luke Fickell as his special teams coach for 2002 and 2003, he did not have anyone holding that title for the following…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-state-football-handling-special-180119851.html
Author : The Columbus Dispatch
Publish date : 2024-03-19 18:01:19
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