Matt Patricia Updates: Buckeye Defense Building Depth

COLUMBUS — Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia met with the media following practice on Monday. He was asked about how the Buckeye defense is coming along, standout players, and much more. Here are the highlights of everything Patricia had to say.

When you have somebody like Caleb Downs with his knowledge and instincts, you love it because you can do many different things. “It’s fun.” He’s aggressive. He knows the offense and IDs everything.
Jermaine Mathews is super competitive. Speed, aggression, flexibility is impressive. The secondary is a lot of fun. They are as competitive as all get out. These are big WRs, they look like pass rushers.
On this team wanting to see some of the national championship stuff taken down: That’s a great approach by this group. It’s different than some sports. If you win a championship in boxing, you’re defending the title. When you are a team, you’re a new team. You’re not defending anything. It’s about going forward, not looking back. “You have to start all over again.”
What are you looking for on Saturday: “I’m looking for a lot of things, actually.” Let’s get in the Shoe. Excited to see the crowd. Defensively, you’re always working on communication in the game. It has to be on point. Same with the play recognition. The next time they play in the stadium will be for real, so this is a good opportunity at a dry run before Texas.
On the safety competition: It has been really good with Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain playing both safety spots. He’s been able to evaluate what those guys excel at while playing both safety spots.
Payton Pierce has excelled this spring. He is felt. His understanding and communication has continued to improve. He’s doing very well.
The message to the defensive line is “prove us right.” You’re here for a reason. It’s fun watching Larry Johnson work with his guys and the intricacies that go into it.
The most progress on the defensive line: Guys are doing well with the multiplicity of it so that the coaches can get an evaluation of everything they can do. Pad level and hand placement has gotten better.
How much are the safeties benefiting from Caleb Downs not playing as much? There is always opportunity when starters are on the sideline. All of them have flashed and made plays. Now it’s just building on your consistency. Those guys have enough reps to show that they can be consistent. “We only have so many games, so you have to get better at practice.”
On Jeremiah Smith: “Outstanding presence on the football field.” He calms things down and plays.
Is the 4-2-5 best for this defense? Those are so prominent in football that you’ve got to be able to do it. But you’ll also need to stop the run with a 4-3. “Having all of that is important.” There are different variations of nickel packages that they can have.
Arvell Reese has a different skill set and he can do some different things. “We’re taking a look at some of those things.” You want him to be great in the role that he’s in “but moving him around makes it difficult for offenses to know what he’s doing.”