IOWA CITY, Iowa – Larry Johnson descended a stairway deep inside Kinnick Stadium as I was walking up.
“Happy with how your guys played tonight and are coming along? I asked, figuring the Ohio State defensive line coach would be pleased that the defense held Iowa to 39 yards rushing one week after surrendering 199 to Illinois.
“It just takes time,” Johnson said, semi-smiling as he slid past me following OSU’s 31-14 win against the Hawkeyes. “And you guys are rushing the process.”
You guys? Uh-oh. Shots fired.
Not really. More like a cork on a string, attached to a popgun. When Johnson isn’t running his linemen through meat grinder practices, he is among the most peaceful men ever to have coached the scarlet and gray. But, clearly, the 74-year-old
is a bit irritated with how the OSU defense, especially the beefiest members of that group, has been portrayed.
Which is? Marshmallows in shoulder pads. OK, a tad strong. The Ohio State big men are not soft. A bit squishy, perhaps; it’s hard to weigh 300 pounds, before breakfast, and not have a few spongy spots. But Johnson’s guys are not mentally mushy. They may be bendable, but except for the Texas fiasco, not breakable.
Anyway, Johnson is correct. It takes time. The Buckeyes’ defense lost eight starters from last season’s unit, which allowed a miniscule 9.3 points a game. Three of those starters, linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles, and safety Caleb Downs, went fifth, seventh and 11th overall in the 2026 NFL draft. The Buckeyes also saw defensive tackle Kayden McDonald and cornerback David Igbinosun go in the second round, nickel back Lorenzo Styles Jr. in the fifth and defensive end Caden Curry in the sixth. Defensive tackle Tywone Malone Jr., who started 11 games in 2025, signed with Carolina as an undrafted free agent.
Will Ohio State defense improve enough to win it all?
It takes time. But how long? What’s the timeline? Five games? Seven? Nine? Johnson escaped through a door before I could follow up, but it’s fair to say progress is being made.
Texas torched OSU’s defense for 236 yards in the fourth quarter in the Longhorns’ 24-23 comeback win. Illinois ran through the defense like water through a colander. But the Buckeyes drew a line in the synthetic turf that Iowa did not cross.
To be perfectly upfront, the Hawkeyes oddly did not put much effort into crossing it, at least not with their run game. Previous editions of coach Kirk Ferentz’s offense were strictly ground and pound, but Saturday the Hawkeyes came out throwing, and kept airing it out against an Ohio State defense that came in ranked 42nd nationally against the run. Not awful, but not exceptional. Iowa attempted 32 passes, the majority of them before halftime when the score remained close, and ran only 21 times.
Ferentz’s explanation?
“Game situations have a lot to do with [the run-to-pass ratio], but right now we’re not where we want to be, I’m not denying that at all.”
There also is no denying that Ohio State came in determined to improve against the run. (As for the pass, after Texas, the pass defense has not been an issue; the Buckeyes limited Iowa to 199 yards up top.)
“The defense played well. Coach [Matt] Patricia came in Sunday and got on our butts, and we didn’t take that lightly,” defensive end Kenyatta Jackson said, referencing the struggles against Illinois, which he attributed to too many defenders playing “hero ball” instead of sticking to their assignments.
'People did their job.' – Kenyatta Jackson
“People did their job [this time],” Jackson said of holding Iowa to 238 yards total offense, and more importantly to 14 points. The Buckeyes, 5-0, are allowing 12.6 points a game. If they can limit opponents to two touchdowns or fewer the rest of the regular season, they will be in the mix for a national championship. That’s asking a lot. Points typically escalate when playing better opponents. (Prime example: The 2006 Buckeyes entered the Michigan game holding opponents to 7.2 points a game before surrendering 39 to the Wolverines and 41 to Florida in the national title game.) But Iowa still served as a good test case to see where OSU’s defense is currently, and what it is capable of down the road.
Jackson's first-quarter strip sack of Iowa quarterback Hank Brown led to Ohio State’s first touchdown, but the pinnacle of the defensive performance occurred early in the third quarter. Leading 17-6, OSU forced three-and-outs on back-to-back Iowa drives and then slammed the door later in the quarter when safety Jaylen McClain intercepted Brown at the Buckeyes’ 30-yard line with the Hawkeyes trailing 24-6.
“We wanted to play really well in the second half and finish the game the right way,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “The combination of those three-and-outs, the turnover and then the way we were able to keep some drives going there with the offense … was what we were looking for.”
That’s not to suggest the Buckeyes are done searching for answers. One well-played game does not make them the 1985 Chicago Bears.
“Every day is a process to get better and identify what’s right for this team,” Day said. “There’s no question that replacing those [eight starters from 2025] doesn’t just happen overnight.”
Honestly, it likely doesn’t happen at all. But being good, if not great, might be enough to allow the offense, led by quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith to put OSU over the top.
I do wonder what the ceiling is for this defense, already knowing the floor was Texas.
“We learned our lesson up there in Texas,” said Jackson. “I don’t lose sleep over it, but that’s a feeling you won’t forget.”
And don’t want to.
“Learn from our mistakes,” Jackson said, adding the defense is only scratching the surface of its potential.
“We can do a lot. It showed today,” he said. “If everybody is doing their job, playing as one, flying to the ball, there is no limit to what the defense can do.”
Shots fired.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Shots fired? Larry Johnson questions criticism of Ohio State's defense
