[BB73]

Ozone interview with Coach Heacock.

ozone.youngdefense

Despite Negative Rhetoric, Heacock Rebuilding Buckeye Defense By John Porentas

You gotta love OSU defensive coordinator Jim Heacock.
At the close of his press conference yesterday prior to OSU practice, Heacock delivered the following line to reporters.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=50 align=left border=0><CAPTION align=bottom>Defensive Coordinator Jim Heacock
Photo by Jim Davidson </CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"I know we've (the OSU defense) got a lot of work to do. There's no question about that. We're not where we need to be and our players know that and we as coaches know that. We've got a long way to go."

That's not exactly what Buckeye fans wanted to hear about their young but talented defense. Don't panic. (And yes, for those of you who read it, we stole that from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy).

We checked, and that was almost verbatim the same line that Heacock has used the last two seasons as fall camp convened, and if memory serves correctly, the two defenses that emerged from those camps weren't too shabby. As Heacock left reporters to head out to practice, a reporter asked Heacock if he had ever had a season when he hadn't felt that way when fall camp began. Heacock answered directly.

"No," he admitted.

The concern over the OSU defense is the fact that the Buckeyes must find nine new starters. Historically, replacing that many new starters spells
trouble for a defense. Or does it?

The recent history says that's just not true. The Buckeyes replaced nine starters on defense in 1997 and fielded a team that was 10-1 heading into the Michigan game. That team also allowed just under 11 points per game for the season. That's not too bad...unless you ask Jim Heacock.
"We didn't win a championship that year," Heacock lamented.

Heacock's early-camp demeanor is always the same. In his own words, he's in the phase of being "a bit critical" right now, so don't look for too much optimism coming from OSU's defensive coordinator. What you can expect from him is a solid plan for taking the talent he has and turning it into a solid defense.

"There's no question that we're going to have to simplify it. We're going to have guys in there that have only been here a year starting in the back end. We won't be able to be as complex as we were last year," Heacock said.

Don't take that to mean simplistic. It just means that Heacock won't overload his young team with complex check-offs and reads. Instead, he'll minimize those kind of adjustments to allow his young defense to do what it does best, run to the football.

"The most important thing is that they execute what we're doing and it's important that we give them stuff that they can execute. I think that's the fine line that we have to spend a lot of time with as coaches.

"We have to give them enough that it gives them an opportunity to be successful against who we're playing, but not give them too much that they have to think about what they're doing and slowing them down. We want then to run and play hard. That's the top priority," Heacock said.

Heacock was asked if this defense is faster than last season's. He was in true early-camp form with an immediate no to that question, but then he qualified the answer.

"A lot of speed is when you know what you're doing, and that group last year had a lot of experience. I think right now we're thinking a little bit and that's slowing us down," he said.

Heacock is known as a coordinator whose schemes are "player friendly." Cornerbacks Coach Tim Beckman explained.

"It means letting the kids play and fitting the scheme that we have to our players. I think Jim Heacock and Luke Fickell have done a great job of doing that," said Beckman.

"I think that there will be not quite as much as we've had in the past, but because of the scheme being so friendly, it's very easy for kids to play here early, because they can learn it. In football when you say something, it means something, it's not just a term and the kids can pick it up and go out there and play full speed, and that's what you ask them to do.

Don't ask Jim Heacock how his defense is going to be, unless you want some gray hairs. Just watch it on the field in September and draw your own conclusions. That worked out pretty well in 1997.

Defensive Notes and Quotes:

Head Knocking Time: The Buckeyes put on the pads for their first hitting of the season on Saturday. That brought a smile to the face of Jim Heacock.

"Today is a great day because it's the first day of pads. We've been going in sweats for about three days, then we went a little bit of shoulder pads and shorts. You get a little bit of hitting and a little bit of nudgin', but now today is the day we really get after it. We'll get a chance to see the young guys and see who likes to hit and who has fun with it. This is what football is all about. Everything up until now since spring ball is has been track and running around and jumping and all those things. This is kind of an exciting day for a defensive player in particular to just get out and hit somebody and just play football," said Heacock.

"What we're looking for is somebody who likes to hit. I like to watch from the sidelines to see who really enjoys getting out there and getting after it, the mentality more than actually how hard they hit or what they do," Heacock said.

D'Andrea Progressing: Linebacker Mike D'Andrea has endured a series of injuries over his career that has prevented him from being on the field. Now in his fifth season with the Buckeyes after a medical redshirt year, D'Andrea is trying to overcome a knee injury to regain his form.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=50 align=left border=0><CAPTION align=bottom>Mike D'Andrea </CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"He went three days pretty good for us," said Heacock of D'Andrea's early fall camp participation.

"He has a little bit of soreness so we're going to back off a little bit. I think the key is getting him through two-a-days. Getting him through this period of time is pretty tough with all the pounding, but we're counting on him.

"I think he's doing a lot better now than he was in the spring. I think he feels good about it and that's the important thing. When he was out here he looked good. He's a tough guy who knows what he's doing.

"We'll look at him at the mike (middle linebacker) and a little bit at viper like he did in the spring a couple or years ago where he can be that Bobby Carpenter type guy," Heacock said.

Depth Chart Update: OSU released a depth chart this week that indicated the Lawrence Wilson is currently holding down a number one spot at defensive end. That was news to Heacock, though he likes Wilson as a player very much.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=50 align=right border=0><CAPTION align=bottom>Lawrence Wilson </CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"Lawrence is a good player. He's a good instinctive defensive end. He's very aggressive and comes off the edge. He's got instincts. He's the whole package. He's big, he's 275 now, he's put on some size. He's got good toughness and is a competitor. He's what you're looking for in a defensive end.

"On my depth chart he was number two. Jay (Richardson) and he are playing that same spot, so they're both pushing each other. We've Vernon Gholston and Alex Barrow at the other end," said Heacock.

Heacock is high on Wilson. He seems even higher on Gholston
"Vernon really came on in the spring," said Heacock.

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=50 align=left border=0><CAPTION align=bottom>Vernon Gholston </CAPTION><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

"He probably surprised me honestly because of his improvement. I thought he had a great spring. He seems to be continuing that. Right now he's with the ones. To be honest with you he's about as improved as any player I've coached from what he did last year and what my expectations were."

Heacock also like what he sees in a newcomer to the defensive end group, freshman Robert Rose.

"He looks like he has good movement. He's very intelligent and picks up the defense well. He's got a good knack for the game of football and knows the game of football. He runs well and is a big kid, 275, 280. Coming off the edge he looks good," Heacock said.

In other roster news, Chad Hoobler has been moved from linebacker to defensive end. Former OSU kicker Jonathan Skeete is no longer on the roster. He has transferred to Morgan State.

Yellow Jerseys: It was just the first day of hitting for the Buckeyes, but there were already some players with the yellow limited-contact jerseys on. They included fullback Ryan Franzinger, linebacker Austin Spitler, linebacker Ross Homan and defensive end Lawrence Wilson.