Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MARCH 2025 39 things to make you play faster, and ulti- mately, he's gonna put you in position to make the play." In a similar vein, Grant said Ash gave him all the tools and techniques he needed to be successful as a defensive back. "He coached so well to the point where the only way you can mess it up is if you're not doing what you're sup- posed to do," Grant said. Grant also explained Ash changed the way he watched tape. He would call Grant in the evening during spring practice and ask him about cut-ups he was supposed to watch, which was both unusual and appreciated. "It wasn't all football," Grant said. "The football part was obviously great, but he's just a guy who's gonna be there for you." CHANGING THE GAME Many defensive coordinators will stand behind the defense during prac- tice. Ash was different. He stood behind the offense because he wanted to see his players' eyes. That way, when one of them messed up, he knew it. They could tell him all they wanted that their eyes were in the right place, but he could always re- spond, "I was looking at your eyes." "No BS-ing him," Powell said, laugh- ing. "It was a really good coaching style." Ash and Luke Fickell, as co-defensive coordinators, would track "loafs" dur- ing practice. Every loaf became one up- down after practice. Those responsible for the loafs would do up-downs in the middle, so everyone else could see who they were doing them for. "He kind of flipped the mentality of our defense," Perry said. Ohio State won the national champi- onship in Ash's first season, and those who covered the team at the time credit him for transforming the defense from a liability to a strength. On3's Ari Was- serman said he was a "stabilizing force" for the Buckeyes, and Lettermen Row's Tim May said he "brought defense back to the Horseshoe." How did he do it? There were a few reasons. Perry said he knew how to put the right personnel on the field at the same time. He also taught the players the weak points in each type of coverage, so they could better understand how the offense would likely attack them. "When you can understand the way teams will try to attack, what they go to in certain situations, you can be more aggressive," Perry said. "It changed the way that I thought about the game." Powell pointed out halftime adjust- ments as a significant Ash strength. His philosophy, as Powell remembers, was "We need you to keep this thing close until halftime so we can figure out ex- actly what they're doing." As long as they didn't let the game get away from them in the first half, he explained, Ash would take it from there. "He was one of the best halftime ad- justment coaches I've ever had in my life," Powell said. Not that Ash didn't have some tricks up his sleeve for the first half of games, too. Grant remembers a game against Rut- gers in 2014 when Ash knew the Scarlet Knights would likely try a goal-line fade to their No. 1 receiver in the red zone. Ohio State was typically a press-man team at the goal line, but at the first op- portunity, Ash called a press-bail zone. Sure enough, the Rutgers quarterback threw the ball in Grant's direction. He was waiting for it, and he picked it off. "It was amazing, because we actually practiced that, that week," Grant said. "It was literally the perfect call at the perfect moment." Ohio State was fourth in the nation with 21 interceptions that year, includ- ing 3 in the Sugar Bowl against Alabama. Powell distinctly recalls Ash pound- ing the table pregame in New Orleans, firmly believing the Buckeyes would need 3 picks to win. "He knows what he's saying," Powell said. "You just gotta believe." ✦ Irish Expected To Hire Ja'Juan Seider To Be New Running Backs Coach Notre Dame moved quickly for a new running backs coach after losing Deland McCullough to the Las Vegas Raiders Feb. 5. According to multiple reports, the Irish are expected to hire Penn State running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider for the same position. With the Nittany Lions, Seider led one of the top run- ning back duos in the country last season in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Notre Dame would be hiring Seider away from the program he's coached at since 2018. Seider also holds assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator titles, the latter of which McCullough held with the Irish as well. Under Seider's leadership, Allen rushed 220 times for 1,108 yards and 8 touchdowns last season. Singleton rushed 172 times for 1,099 yards and 12 scores. Both backs gashed Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl, which the Irish won 27-24 on a last-second field goal. They combined for 34 carries and 166 yards, while Singleton — whose commit- ment the Nittany Lions secured after a heated battle with the Irish — found the end zone three times. Penn State might have one of the two best running back rooms in college football in 2025, but the other could very well be Notre Dame. In South Bend, Seider would have the chance to coach Jeremiyah Love in what is likely his final year of college football, as well as key returners Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams. With McCullough as his coach, Love emerged as one of the most electric players in college football during his sophomore season, rushing 163 times for 1,125 yards (6.9 yards per carry) and 17 touch- downs. Price, who had hit-or-miss tendencies but was a threat to go the distance at any moment, had 120 carries for 746 yards and 7 scores. Williams emerged as Notre Dame's third-down back and saw his touches increase late in the season, ending the year with 34 carries for 219 yards and 2 touchdowns. He came up huge against Seider's Nittany Lions, with 5 receptions for 66 yards. Love did, too, with a 2-yard touchdown run in which he broke four attempted Penn State tackles. McCullough leaves the Notre Dame running backs room better than he found it, back when he joined the Irish on Marcus Freeman's original staff in 2022. In addition to Price, Love and Williams, McCullough coached Audric Estimé to one of the best rushing seasons in program history and helped him become a fifth-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos. As of Feb. 10, the deal was not yet officially done. But by all accounts, Seider was expected to leave State College, Pa., for South Bend. — Jack Soble Seider is expected to leave Penn State to become the new running backs coach at Notre Dame. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER