By: Pete DiPrimio | IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The secondary test is coming. Ohio State’s talent-rich receivers group against Indiana’s revamped pass defense lineup.
IU head coach Tom Allen can’t wait to see it.
He has faith in a group led by veterans Noah Pierre, Josh Sanguinetti, Phillip Dunnam, and Louis Moore as the Hoosiers prepare to host the No. 3 Buckeyes in Saturday afternoon’s season opener at Memorial Stadium.
Pierre is the only returning secondary starter.
“I think the biggest question mark is a lot of new faces in the secondary,” Allen said during Monday’s press conference at Henke Hall. “They’ll be tested at a very, very high level from the get go. I’m excited about that.”
New Hoosier faces include transfers such as Kobee Minor (Texas Tech), Jamier Johnson (Texas), Nic Toomer (Stanford), and even Notre Dame transfer JoJo Johnson, a former all-state-of-Indiana player out of Merrillville who played last year at an Iowa junior college.
“Some of these guys have played quite a bit of football,” Allen said. “They might be new to us, but not to college football.”
Young players such as Jamari Sharpe and James Monds III also have promise.
“We’ve got to play to our standard,” Allen said. “If something (bad) happens, you’ve got to flush it and go.”
Allen is confident the secondary will do that.
“You’ve got to play to your system and do a great job of disguising things,” he said. “It’s preparation. It’s confidence. It’s playing at a high level. If they make a play, flush it and play the next play. Have some maturity.”
Co-defensive coordinator Matt Guerrieri has seen maturity and confidence all month. He said blending in new players with returning veterans into a cohesive secondary unit is, “a great challenge.”
“It’s our job to make sure they have a good understanding of what we do so they can play fast and execute,” he said. “If not, they won’t be able to do anything at the level we need them to.”
Ohio State has arguably the top receiving corps in the country.
“They’ve added some new talented receivers to a group that was already very, very talented,” Allen said. “But it’s like anything else. We have to play extremely well within our system. We have to do what we do well.”
Ohio State has consistently been a scoring powerhouse. It averaged 44.2 points last season, and 45.7 in 2021. It’s directed by head coach Ryan Day, considered one of the nation’s top offensive coaches, and new offensive coordinator Brian Hartline.
“They’re going to have some catches and get some yards,” Allen said about Buckeye receivers. “We’ve got to do a great job of preventing the explosive plays. We all know that, but saying that and doing that is not as simple as it sounds.”
Added Guerrieri: “Knowing that (Ohio State has) some explosive wide receivers, it’s my job to put our guys in position to execute. Then it’s a competitive mindset. No matter who you play, it’s about us, how you fight, how you compete.”
Ohio State will have a new quarterback. Make that quarterbacks. Both Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are expected to play, and what they lack in experience (neither has started before), they make up for with high-level talent.
“Whoever is going to start will be a very talented player,” Allen said. “We don’t know a lot about them. You have to go back to high school film for both of these guys. That makes it unique. They’re also different quarterbacks as well. They have different skill sets. Both can throw the ball extremely well, and one (Brown) is more athletic than the other. From a running perspective, both can elude things.
“That creates challenges, but we’re preparing for that. We’re preparing for both. They have a standard of how they play, and a consistency in what they’re doing offensively. You’ve got to out-compete them for balls and for plays and for making tackles.”
Ohio State has been a top-six program in each of Day’s previous four seasons. He has a 45-6 record with four-straight playoff appearances.
“You study what they’ve done offensively, it’s impressive,” Allen said. “And the way they continue to recruit. He was obviously given a great situation, but that’s hard to take it and elevate it.”
A missed field goal cost Ohio State a playoff semifinal win over eventual national champion Georgia last season.
“They were one makeable field goal away from playing for a national championship,” Allen said. “I have a ton of respect for him. He’s done a helluva job. He’s a first-class person. He cares about his players. He does it the right way. He’s special.”
Ohio State’s offensive firepower goes beyond just having great players, Allen added.
“(Ryan is) sharp and really maximizes (his talent). They have great players, and that’s part of it, but they also have a system in place that puts you in a lot of conflicts defensively.
“They keep continuing to get better. They might have their best team that (Ryan has) had since he’s been there.”
