Coaches will never stop spewing hyperbolic statements. This may be especially true in college football, where statements routinely reach ridiculous extremes. And now, Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano has provided us with yet another example of coaches saying things coaches say.
Ohio State’s defensive line has been pretty good for a long time now, turning out some solid defensive linemen like Joey Bosa, and this year should be no different for the Buckeyes. But just how good will this defensive line be? According to Schiano, it will be better than the defensive line he coached as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 and 2013.
During an interview with Big Ten Network during the network’s camp tour through the Big Ten, Schiano was asked about his defensive line when he said Ohio State’s defensive line is the most talented line he has ever coached.
“This is the most unselfish, humble group that I’ve ever been around and probably, well not probably, the most talented group I’ve ever been around,” Schiano said at the BTN desk. Asked a follow-up on just how talented Schiano thought this group of defensive linemen is, Schiano doubled down and said “It is” the most talented line he’s ever coached, including the NFL.
DC Greg Schiano talks about who will step up for the @OhioStateFB defense heading into the season. https://t.co/2al5CsbJbA
— Ohio State on BTN (@OhioStateOnBTN) August 5, 2017
The reaction of Big Ten Network analyst Howard Griffith pretty much sums it up for me. C’mon Schiano. Don’t go there.
Yes, this Ohio State defensive line may certainly be the strength of the Buckeyes this fall and could very well be sending some players to the NFL. And if Schiano is speaking about overall potential, fair enough. But you can’t go out and just say the defensive line of a very good college football team is the best you have ever coached when you have coached at the NFL.
Schiano’s comments may not have been quite on par with the ridiculous assumption that Alabama could beat the Cleveland Browns or Kentucky basketball could take down the Philadelphia 76ers, but we are all smart enough to know that even the weakest of NFL defensive lines will hold the edge over the best college football has to offer.
Schiano mentioned one of his former Tampa Bay players, Gerald McCoy, but he also had Michael Bennett on the roster as well. Bennett had nine sacks in 2012 and 8.5 the following season before finding his groove in Seattle. By NFL standards, maybe Tampa Bay’s defensive line overall left some room for improvement, but you’d be hard-pressed not to take a four-man defensive line of NFL players over any college defensive line a college program has to offer.
Schiano has plenty of good reasons to be optimistic about his defensive line in Columbus entering the 2017 season, but let’s not go crazy suggesting this line is better than a mediocre line on an NFL roster.
[ESPN]
