Ohio State Buckeyes: ‘Bullet’ position could make big difference for defense

With a little more than a week to go before the 2021 version of the Silver Bullets is unveiled against Minnesota, all indications are the structure of the Ohio State defense will be familiar.

“We’ll see how it plays out, but I don’t see too many schematic changes,” secondary coach Matt Barnes said Monday. “We have the potential to get more speed on the field when we want to, but it depends on our opponent and the personnel groupings that we’re facing. It’s hard to say right now because it’s still early on, so we’ll just have to see how it plays out.”

That means the Buckeyes will have a deep safety in the middle of the field, a “cover safety” in the box and two cornerbacks in the secondary with three linebackers and four down linemen up front.

What Ohio State is doing might seem a lot different based on what the third linebacker — or his equivalent — is doing, though.

That is where Craig Young, Ronnie Hickman and Kourt Williams enter the equation.

Competing for playing time at the “Bullet” position, they are the personification of the speed Barnes mentioned, and that word — “speed” — is doing a lot of work in the phrasing he chose to use.

To a coach, the Buckeyes will essentially line up in the same way they have the past two seasons.

To an outsider, the defense could look significantly different because of what a faster, more athletic players can do as the Bullet as opposed to a more traditional outside linebacker.

Just ask Young.

“I’m very versatile,” he said. “I can ‘fit’ (defend the run) in the box, I can guard, I can go back in deep thirds. I can do pretty much anything a 5-9 player can do. I’m just 6-4. I just like being fast and physical in the box.”

At 223 pounds, he is much lighter than the third linebackers of the past two seasons, 240-pound Baron Browning and 242-pound Pete Werner.

So are the 205-pound Hickman and 220-pound Williams, who were both recruited as defensive backs while Young was thought of as a potential linebacker or even defensive end or tight end.

While Werner was asked to drop deep at times, that was mostly as a decoy to allow the coaches to mask what they were doing with the rest of the secondary.

There is a feeling this season the Bullet -- be it Young, Hickman and Williams -- can be more of a weapon to be utilized in multiple ways.

“I think the Bullet position has been good,” Hickman said. “I think it fits my style of play. I’m very excited about it, and so are the other guys in the room.”

Young agreed.

“It’s me,” Young said. “It’s what I did in high school. I just feel very comfortable with it. I’m more confident where I’m at now.”

There is also hope a tweak to the hierarchy in the coaching staff will have a positive impact on the Ohio State defense.

After co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison retired, Barnes was promoted from co-secondary coach to full secondary coach. His duties as special teams coordinator were also handed off to Parker Fleming, who was promoted from the support staff.

Aside from Barnes concentrating on developing DBs, the changes means Kerry Coombs, who received the title of defensive coordinator when he returned to the staff from the NFL last year, is able to focus more fully on the scheme while doing less hands-on coaching in the secondary.

“I think it’s a good yin-yang,” said Barnes, who comes across much more reserved than the fiery Coombs. “Kerry does an unbelievable job, and I feel fortunate to be able to, to assist and kind of focus on the day-to-day and the details and things like that, which frees him up to have a little bit more time to focus on bigger picture things and coordinating the whole defense. So it’s been awesome. I’ve learned a ton from Kerry, and I’m really enjoying my role.”