With a playoff opener looming, Ryan Day is blowing up his offensive coaching structure, and his top defensive mind has just resurfaced to address a star player’s sudden decline. For instance, offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has already signed with USF. Additionally, Matt Patricia has finally broken his three-month hiatus and addressed the state of the defense, particularly with Arvell Reese.

Before speaking to the media today, Matt Patricia last appeared on September 16, when he discussed ways to improve their game during the off week.

Since then, both the Buckeyes and Patricia’s defense have come a long way. Matt Patricia opened up about what might soon become a glaring concern for Buckeyes fans: Arvell Reese’s second-half-of-the-season form. However, Patricia isn’t worried one bit.

“A lot of the stuff we attacked early in the season now, I think teams have kind of seen enough film on it, so a lot of times they’ll slide to his spot where he is, or they’ll try to make sure they have him accounted for in different ways, Patricia said in the press.

But that’s great. That gives opportunities for other players on the field. His role, his flexibility, and the way that we’ve been able to utilize him is super special.”

Well, it’s not hard to see Arvell Reese’s drastic dip in his numbers. The defensive end started what is arguably his last season of college ball with a top-five draft pick written all over him. He was consistent week in and week out and put up one of his best performances against then–top-10 Illinois.

By late November, before the big game against Michigan, he had racked up an impressive 6.5 sacks for the season and almost 60 total tackles. He seemed unstoppable for a while there.

However, his production suddenly cooled significantly in the second half of the year. In the five games leading up to that Michigan rivalry game, he only managed a combined total of five tackles. That’s a massive drop-off from his earlier pace.

Moreover, Ryan Day assured it wasn’t a skill issue or a performance problem. But it’s more about how opposing teams were game-planning around Reese’s abilities.

Matt Patricia then spoke about the most significant transition of the season so far: Ryan Day returning to play-calling duties and what that means for the defense. Will there be any changes on the defensive side in terms of play-calling?

“Coach Day does a great job of coaching the team,” Patricia said. “He’s really involved with all three aspects and making sure that we’re approaching everything the right way, playing the game the right way, and all the pieces are coming together to put us in the best situation to win.”

It appears the defensive side will see few changes beyond Patricia taking on more responsibility as Day resumes play-calling, a minor shift that shouldn’t disrupt the top-ranked unit.

Ohio State is already ranked No. 1 in almost every major defensive category, except for rushing defense, where they rank fifth, allowing 84.5 yards per game. The real question is whether Ryan Day still has it when it comes to play-calling, and why this sudden change of heart happened now.

Ryan Day reclaims play-calling duties for Playoff opener

Ryan Day will now officially call the offensive plays when the Buckeyes play Miami in their playoff opener. Typically, the offensive coordinator would handle this, but Brian Hartline has recently accepted a new head coaching position at South Florida. Because of that, Day decided to step in and handle play-calling himself for this game.

He explained that Hartline already has a lot on his plate now. He wants Hartline to focus mainly on coaching the wide receivers instead of worrying about calling plays:

“We wanted to take (play-calling) off of Brian’s plate because he’s got so much going on with what he’s trying to do. It’s such a strange calendar, and the timing is brutal, but he’s handled it really well. It’s a lot on his plate to manage. We’re kind of taking it day to day, said Day.

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Going into the game, it’ll be a group effort. (Tight ends coach) Keenan (Bailey) will be very much involved. Ultimately, it will be my decision what calls go into the game.”

Ryan Day was the primary play-caller before handing those duties to Chip Kelly last season. After Kelly left to join the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders, Hartline got promoted. But now Day is temporarily taking back control, especially after the 13–10 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the Big Ten Championship Game.

With Day calling plays again, Ohio State hopes for better offensive plays. Fans can expect a more aggressive, pass-heavy approach similar to what they’ve seen from Day in the past.