Coach Ryan Day Announces Football Staffing Updates

COLUMBUS, Ohio – With spring practice set to begin Tuesday, March 10, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on Monday announced a series of coaching staff updates that further modernize the program and reinforce its championship standards.

2026 Ohio State Buckeyes Coaching Staff:
- Defense:
  - Matt Patricia (Defensive Coordinator)
    - Signed Contract Extension
  - Larry Johnson (Associate HC/Defensive Line Coach)
    - Signed New Contract
  - Tim Walton (Assistant Head Coach / Co-Defensive Coordinator / Secondary/Cornerbacks Coach)
  - Matt Guerrieri (Safeties Coach / Pass Game Coordinator)
  - James Laurinaitis (Linebackers Coach)
    - Signed New Contract
- Offense:
  - Arthur Smith (Offensive Coordinator)
  - Keenan Bailey (Co-Offensive Coordinator/TE)
    - Signed New Contract
  - Tyler Bowen (Offensive Line Coach & Run Game Coordinator)
  - Billy Fessler (Pass Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach)
    - Signed New Contract
  - Cortez Hankton (Wide Receivers Coach)
    - New Hire
  - Carlos Locklyn (Running Backs Coach)
    - Signed New Contract
- Special Teams:
  - Robby Discher (Special Teams Coordinator)
    - New Hire
Additionally, Anthony Schlegel has joined the strength and conditioning staff as the program's assistant director of strength and conditioning.

From Coach Day

"College football is evolving fast, and today's staffing update is another step in modernizing our program to set the standard in the sport and provide our players with premier support in every aspect of their experience in our program. Extending Coach Matt Patricia and five of our position coaches, and adding leaders like Robby and Anthony, gives us the structure, innovation and accountability we need to keep competing for championships in 2026 and beyond."

More on the Defensive Coaches
Patricia presided over the nation's top-ranked defense in 2025, as the Buckeyes finished ranked No. 1 in scoring defense (9.3 points allowed per game), No. 1 in total defense (219.1 yards allowed per game) and No. 1 in passing defense (129.7 yards allowed per game). Ohio State had the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year (Caleb Downs), Defensive Lineman of the Year (Kayden McDonald) and Linebacker of the Year (Arvell Reese).

Johnson will enter his 13th season at Ohio State in 2026 and 30th overall as a college coach. Nine Ohio State defensive linemen have earned first-team All-America honors under Johnson, including the most recent, DT Kayden McDonald, in 2025. McDonald was Ohio State's first unanimous All-America defensive tackle in 55 years.

Walton, a former Buckeye cornerback with 28 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and NFL levels, is entering his fifth season this fall leading Ohio State's secondary and cornerbacks. He was promoted to co-defensive coordinator by head coach Ryan Day in February 2025. Under Walton's guidance, Ohio State's defense has reached elite status, finishing the 2025 season ranked No. 1 nationally in multiple categories. The Buckeyes also produced a sweep of the Big Ten's top defensive honors this past season.

Guerrieri joined Ohio State's coaching staff in February 2024 as safeties coach was promoted to pass game coordinator a year later. His unit anchored the No. 1-ranked overall defense in 2024, helping Ohio State capture the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff National Championship. In 2025, the Buckeyes again led the nation in multiple categories including the country's top-ranked passing defense (129.7 ypg.). Under his guidance, safety Caleb Downs earned unanimous All-America honors for the second-straight year and captured multiple national awards.

Laurinaitis just finished his second season as Ohio State's full-time linebackers coach and his third on staff. His starting linebacker tandem in 2025 of Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese made school history by becoming the first tandem of linebackers in the same season to be named a first-team All-American.

More on the Offensive Coaches
Smith, a veteran NFL offensive coordinator and former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, was hired this offseason as Ohio State's offensive coordinator after 17 seasons in the NFL, where his offenses consistently produced elite rushing attacks and efficient quarterback play. He is the only offensive coordinator or head coach in modern NFL history to have seven different running backs record at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage in a seven-year span and has guided quarterbacks such as Ryan Tannehill, Matt Ryan, Justin Fields and Aaron Rodgers to significant statistical and winning improvements.

Bailey was promoted to tight ends coach prior to the 2023 and coached the program's first-ever Big Ten Tight End of the Year: Cade Stover, who is currently a member of the Houston Texans. Bailey was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2025. Bailey has been a member of Ohio State's staff since 2016.

Bowen, who was hired in February 2025 as Ohio State's offensive line coach and run game coordinator, is entering his second season on staff in 2026. In his first year with the Buckeyes, he guided tackle Austin Siereveld and guard Luke Montgomery to second-team All-Big Ten honors while center Carson Hinzman earned first-team AFCA All-America recognition, with all five starting linemen receiving all-conference accolades.

In Fessler's first season as Ohio State's full-time quarterbacks coach in 2025 -- after serving as a QB analyst in 2024 where he worked with Will Howard who had a record-setting season as the Buckeyes won the College Football Playoff National Championship – he delivered immediate results. He developed redshirt freshman Julian Sayin into a Heisman finalist and Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year, leading the nation in completion percentage (77.0%, a school record) with 3,610 yards, 32 TDs, and just 8 INTs. Fessler is in his second stint on staff, having been a graduate assistant in 2020–21.

Hankton, a New Orleans native and veteran wide receivers coach, was hired this offseason as Ohio State's wide receivers coach after a decade of experience at three SEC programs, most recently serving as wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator at LSU. There, he helped engineer one of the nation's most explosive passing attacks, twice ranking among the top two in the SEC in passing offense. Hankton previously coached at Georgia, where he contributed to a CFP National Championship and developed many future NFL receivers.

Locklyn will enter his third season at Ohio State in 2026 and has coached three 1,000-yard running backs during his tenure. Lockelyn's tenure thus far with the Buckeyes has included helping Ohio State win the College Football Playoff national championship in 2024 with a backfield that included two second round NFL Draft choices - TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. That season, Judkins and Henderson combined to rush for 2,326 yards and score 25 touchdowns. The duo turned it up in the Buckeyes postseason CFP run, totaling 520 yards in four games with 10 touchdowns and an average of 6.3 yards per carry. In 2025, Lockelyn recruited and developed FWAA Freshman All-American Bo Jackson, who became just the fifth true freshman running back in program history to rush for 1,000 yards.

More on Robby Discher
Under Discher's guidance, the Fighting Illini ranked No. 16 and No. 30 in the nation according to ESPN's special teams efficiency metric in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Discher helped Illinois to a 10-3 record in 2024, tying the program's single-season wins record, and a final ranking of No. 16 in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.

Discher developed punt returner Hank Beatty into one of the best in the nation in 2024 and 2025. Beatty led the Big Ten and ranked fourth nationally in punt return average (14.1 yards/return) and was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team and earned Phil Steele All-America Honorable Mention status in 2024. In 2025, Beatty ranked 19th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten in punt return yards (213), while averaging 16.4 yards per punt return.

Kicker David Olano and long snapper Lane Hansen each earned back-to-back All-Big Ten honors in 2024 and 2025. Along with kicker Caleb Griffin and returner Isaiah Williams, who were All-Big Ten honorees in 2023, Illinois had three straight seasons of All-Big Ten kickers and All-Big Ten returners under Discher.

More on Anthony Schlegel
No stranger to Ohio State fans, Schlegel was a two-year starter for the Buckeyes (2004-05) and made 166 tackles in those two seasons. He worked previously on Ohio State's strength staff from 2011-15 and in 2021 was the head strength coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

2026 Buckeye Sports Group Spring Game, Presented by Union Home Mortgage Set for April 18
With Spring Practice set to begin on Tuesday, March 10, excitement continues to build for the 2026 Buckeye Sports Group Spring Game, presented by Union Home Mortgage, with tickets on sale now. General admission seats priced at $13 and limited reserved options at $30 (AA Deck) and $60 (club level), plus applicable service charges. Parking is free, and the game will be played Saturday, April 18 at noon in Ohio Stadium, with television coverage on BTN.

Season Ticket Information
Ohio State season ticket holders for the 2025 season were sent renewal information in November with a March 2 deadline. However, for a limited time, season ticket holders can still renew their seats by logging into their Ohio State Buckeyes Account. Those interested in becoming season ticket holders or learning more about other ticket packages for the 2026 season should visit https://go.osu.edu/fbtix.

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