Ohio State is shaking things up in Columbus, and this time, it's the special teams unit getting a much-needed facelift. After two years of operating without a true special teams coordinator - a stretch marked by inconsistency and costly mistakes - head coach Ryan Day is turning the page. Enter Robby Discher, the former Illinois special teams coordinator and tight ends coach, who’s now tasked with bringing order and energy to a unit that’s been running on committee control.
Discher steps into a role that, frankly, has needed a steady hand for a while. Parker Fleming held the title for three seasons, but after a rocky 2023 campaign, Ohio State parted ways with him.
Since then, special teams duties have fallen to quality control coach Rob Keys and others in a patchwork approach that never quite clicked. The results?
A No. 67 national ranking in 2025 and No. 47 in 2024 - not exactly the Buckeyes standard.
With Discher now officially in charge, the expectation is that one voice, one vision, and one plan will help stabilize a phase of the game that too often flew under the radar until it became a problem. And with the kind of athletes Ohio State has stockpiled across its roster, even modest improvements in special teams execution could lead to big-time results. Field position, momentum swings, hidden yardage - these are the margins where championships are won, and Discher knows how to coach those details.
That said, this move doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part of a larger recalibration happening in Columbus, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, where the Buckeyes are entering a new era under offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. And it’s fair to say that era begins with more questions than answers.
Smith takes over play-calling duties following Brian Hartline’s departure to become the head coach at USF. Under Hartline, Ohio State’s offense was explosive and efficient - even in a season that ended with a Big Ten Championship loss, the Buckeyes were dominant enough during the regular season to secure a first-round playoff bye. That margin for error, though, might not exist in 2026.
The Buckeyes’ schedule is no joke. Matchups with Texas, Indiana, USC, Oregon, and Michigan (TTUN) loom large, and there’s no guarantee Ohio State will be able to coast into the postseason without taking care of business in the conference title game. Every possession is going to matter, and that’s where the concerns about Smith’s track record come into play.
During his time as head coach in Atlanta, Smith’s offenses were, to put it kindly, underwhelming. The Falcons scored 30 or more points just once in three seasons.
On the flip side, they were held to 15 points or fewer 14 times. That’s nearly a full season’s worth of offensive duds.
Red zone efficiency was a recurring issue, and explosive plays were few and far between.
If that version of Smith shows up in Columbus, the Buckeyes could be in trouble - especially with a defense that’s expected to take a step back due to NFL departures, particularly in the middle of the field. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will have his hands full trying to keep that group humming at a high level.
So, can Ohio State weather this storm? Can they navigate a brutal schedule, lean on a potentially regressing defense, and still find enough offensive firepower under Smith to stay in the national title hunt?
That’s the question that will hang over this team all offseason. Discher’s arrival is a step in the right direction - a smart, calculated move to shore up a weak spot.
But if the offense doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain, special teams won’t be able to save them. This season could be the first real test of Ryan Day’s program since 2023 - and whether the Buckeyes are built to bend or break.