Ohio State safeties coach Perry Eliano speaks to the media on the practice field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center ahead of the 2022 season. Photo Credit: Casey Smith | Lantern File Photo
Now five practices into fall camp, safeties coach Perry Eliano is “pleased.”
Over the past few seasons, the safety room has noticeably struggled compared to where it once was. Just in case the five plays for 45-plus yards against Michigan in 2022 were forgotten.
But now, it seems, they may be finding their stride again with Sonny Styles, Lathan Ransom, Ja’Had Carter and Cameron Martinez, among others, all fighting for the starting job.
“We’re looking for at least six guys, plus one,” Eliano said. “The thing I love is just healthy competition. Nobody’s guaranteed a spot, and that’s what you want as a coach, so they know they’ve got to bring it every day.”
Ohio State plays with a three-safety group: Bandit, Adjuster and Nickel.
Last week, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said the three positions will likely belong to Styles, Ransom and Carter, but nothing is ever guaranteed.
Styles, a sophomore who gained 11 pounds since this time last year, is currently a front-runner for the Nickel position – quick and capable of playing on the edge and blitzing.
Eliano said Styles is versatile, mature, coachable and ready for the game plan Eliano and the staff have laid out for him.
“He’ll be on the field,” Eliano said. “We know exactly what we want to do with him. We’ve created a great plan for him and thought it through. We’re excited about what it’s going to look like.”
In his fourth year, Ransom is coming off his best season yet with 74 tackles and Big Ten All-American Honorable Mention honors.
After suffering a broken leg injury in the winter of 2021, Ransom sat out of spring football in 2022. This year, he was healthy all of spring and summer and said he “feels great.”
“I really understood and learned last year, you’ve got to put on that size to really endure the whole season,” Ransom said. “That takes maturity. My diet and my lifting, to just know that, yeah it’s good to feel good game one, game two, but how are you gonna feel game seven, game eight?”
Ransom is expected to play the Bandit position, or strong safety, who lines up against tight ends in coverage. Eliano said, however, Ohio State is a “safety-driven defense,” so every player has to know everything.
“Anything can happen in a game, so it’s our job as coaches to prepare our guys for the ‘what if,’” Eliano said. “We’re just trying to find the very best mix and chemistry to utilize our personnel and our talent.”
Carter, the senior transfer from Syracuse University, came to Ohio State expecting to learn the playbook and jump right in. However, midway through spring, he was injured and had to watch from the sideline, so Eliano said they missed time to “evaluate” him.
“I’m excited about where he’s at to this point, but it’s still a learning curve because he missed half of spring, so we’re just taking it one day at a time,” Eliano said.
Over the first few fall camp practices, Carter has been leading at the Adjuster role, a deep-cover free safety particularly strong at pass protection.
Despite the inclination, Carter will earn Adjuster, Eliano said “no position is etched in stone,” though Carter’s flexibility on the field makes him a good fit.
“He attacked what he needed to do to get back on the field,” Eliano said. “All of our guys have a unique skill set, so he’s a guy that’s flexible as well. It’s not, ‘you’ve gotta be here, you’ve gotta be there,’ it’s just a matter of who’s going to give us the best opportunity against certain personnel.”
Martinez, sixth-year Josh Proctor and freshman Malik Hartford are also in the running.
Eliano said he doesn’t feel close to the “six guys plus one” mentality. He needs more players to step up and reveal themselves as capable of falling into a six- or seven-man safety rotation.
“There’s a familiarity of exactly how a young man thinks, how he truly fits in the system,” Eliano said. “It’s my job, as a coach, to identify that and give us our best chance to win, and be successful and give the individual young man — in that position, whether it be Nickel, Adjuster or Bandit — the very best opportunity to play at the highest leve
