The NFL Scouting Combine is supposed to be about the players. They’re the ones running 40s, measuring wingspans, and sitting through back-to-back interviews with NFL front offices. But in Indianapolis this year, Ohio State’s defensive prospects kept steering the conversation toward their defensive coordinator.
Matt Patricia.
One by one, as Buckeye defenders stepped to the Combine podium, a pattern emerged. They weren’t just answering questions about their own draft stock. They were crediting their defensive coordinator for the players they’ve become.
The Quotes Tell the Story
Defensive end Caden Curry set the tone on Wednesday morning.
“Coach Patricia’s been everything for me our whole senior year,” Curry said. “From when he got in the building, taking the time to get to know me and my family and getting to know him and his family, he’s just such a great guy to be around, and he has so much wisdom.”
Curry wasn’t done. He went on to call Matt Patricia “one of the best defense coordinators in college football, in my opinion.” He’s just a guy that everybody wants to play for.”
Linebacker Arvell Reese followed with a different angle but the same sentiment. Reese credited Patricia’s teaching for giving him a level of schematic understanding that most college players don’t have.
“I think he’s a huge reason why I played the way I play,” Reese said. “Just gained a bunch of knowledge from him. It’s stuff you pick up on, and you don’t even realize you gained it from him. I’m realizing that right now.”
Defensive tackle Kayden McDonald offered the most emotional perspective, focusing on Matt Patricia’s impact beyond football.
“He’s a people’s coach,” McDonald said. “He’s going to come up to you off the field. He helped me mentally and got me ready for this moment. Now I feel at ease, I’ve got a smile on my face, and I’m just ready to be great.”
Sonny Styles praised Patricia’s continued involvement in the draft process, noting that the coordinator hopped on Zoom calls to prepare players for what Combine meetings would look like.
And then there was Caleb Downs, the player many consider the best defender in the entire draft class. At Thursday’s podium session, Downs quoted Matt Patricia’s own coaching language back to the national media.
“Coach Patricia, he uses the term ‘simple for us, hard for them,'” Downs said. “At the end of the day, if I’m in all these different positions and doing different things at different positions, the quarterback is having to think about that every play.”
What the Consistency Reveals
Individual praise from one player can be dismissed as politeness. When every defender on the roster says the same thing independently, across two days of media sessions, that’s something different entirely.
The through line across every quote is that Matt Patricia invested in his players as people, not just as scheme pieces. He learned about their families. He prepared them for the draft. He taught them concepts they could carry into professional careers. And he built a defense that showcased their individual talents on a national stage.
SI.com’s national Combine the recap and put it plainly, noting that “Patricia’s identity is deeply embedded in the 2026 draft class.” “That’s not something you hear about most coordinators. It speaks to a level of influence that goes beyond play-calling.
A Reflection of the Culture
On The Pat McAfee Show later in the week, Matt Patricia was asked about the outpouring of praise from his former players. True to form, he deflected.
“You’ve got to start with Coach Day and the culture and the people that he has in the building,” Patricia said. “On the defensive side, you felt it right away when you walked in the meeting room.”
His players would probably argue he’s selling himself short. But that humility is part of why they respect him so much in the first place.
The Combine is designed to evaluate players. This year in Indianapolis, Ohio State’s defenders used it to evaluate their coach. The verdict was unanimous.
Also read: From NFL to Big Ten: Why Matt Patricia’s Defensive Mind Will Transform Ohio State
