OSU preview continues - The Secondary
DBU was a little wonky last year. The safeties couldn't get out of their own way or in the way of opposing players. College Gameday had multiple sets on what was wrong with OSU's corners, as it turned out that playing man coverage all the time can sometimes bite you in the butt. Jeff Hafley is not the man coaching the defensive backs, and it certainly sounds like the man coverage will be dialed back a bit and some more zone looks will called. Who will be playing them?
There are mostly easy answers here. Damon Arnette returns as a starter, and Jeffrey Okudah moves from the third corner to the second corner. While a five star athlete and great cover man, he wasn't very physical at the line of scrimmage. Shaun Wade should also play quite a bit as either a third corner or at safety.
Jordan Fuller was their leading tackler last year, and he returns and should be a standout on the defense. The other safety spot is a bit undetermined. As mentioned in the linebackers, OSU is moving a couple safeties into a glorified linebacker/safety position, and it's a bit unclear how often the "Bullet," probably Brendan White, will be on the field and where. Regardless, Isaiah Pryor and Amir Riep are the reserves and should also see a fair amount of time on the field.
The hope, and my expectation, is that the secondary should be much improved. Allowing the secondary to set up and look at the field instead of constantly identifying their man should make for a more cohesive defense that doesn't appear as full of holes.
