Cincinnati’s secondary was one of the most exciting units in the country in 2021.
With players like Jim Thorpe Award winner Coby Bryant and All-American Athletic Conference First Team member Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner at cornerback, the Bearcats were close to unstoppable against the pass, finishing first in defensive pass efficiency (100.47), No. 2 in passing yards allowed (168.3), No. 3 in interceptions (18) and No. 4 in opponent completion percentage (53.5%).
This has been the story for Perry Eliano since he joined Luke Fickell’s staff as a cornerbacks coach in March 2020.
Since Eliano’s arrival, the Bearcats have won back-to-back AAC titles leading to a College Football Playoff appearance in the Cotton Bowl against Alabama.
Really, this is exactly what Ohio State needs.
And it’s exactly what Ohio State got, with the program confirming that Eliano would be Ohio State's next safeties coach in 2022.
“Perry’s work the last two years at Cincinnati speaks for itself,” Day said in a statement. “He has developed great players and has been a huge part of the Bearcats’ success. He has 15 years of collegiate experience coaching either safeties or cornerbacks and that was the kind of experience we were looking for. I look forward to welcoming Perry and his family to Ohio State University.”
The Buckeyes need all the help it can get in terms of the secondary.
In 2021, Ohio State allowed 246.2 passing yards per game — 12th best in a 14-team Big Ten — 6.9 yards per play and 21 passing touchdowns: one of five in the conference to allow more than 20, along with Rutgers, Indiana, Maryland and Michigan State.
Ohio State had the ninth best defensive pass efficiency, with a 129.7 rating, 29.23 points higher than Cincinnati’s rating in 2021, with an opponent completion rate of 61.6%, one of four teams to have a completion rate higher than 60%, along with Northwestern, Michigan State and Indiana.
But this success Eliano has cultivated has not been a one-season fluke at Cincinnati.
In his first season with Fickell, the Bearcats made the Top-15 in five different defensive categories including interceptions and defensive pass efficiency, leading the AAC in pass deflections and interceptions.
When he was with University of Texas San Antonio from 2011-15, he coached eight different all-conference players spanning two different conferences. At New Mexico, he helped both of the Lobos’ starting cornerbacks — Jalin Burrell and D’Angelo Ross — end up with NFL teams after solid seasons, leading the team with six pass breakups each.
In Ohio State’s safety room, Eliano will have one of the nation’s leading tacklers back in Ronnie Hickman, along with players like Bryson Shaw, Kourt Williams II, Cameron Martinez and Lathan Ransom, who just underwent surgery after being carted off the field at the Rose Bowl with his left leg in an air cast.
The Buckeyes look to also have Josh Proctor back, who suffered a broken leg in Ohio State’s Sept. 11 loss to Oregon, along with newcomers Kye Stokes, Alex “Sonny” Styles and Tanner McCalister, who followed new Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Oklahoma State to Columbus.
The success Eliano has had doesn’t stop at the defensive backfield.
In 2018-19 with New Mexico, Eliano was its special teams coordinator, finishing the 2109 season top-20 nationally in net punting — helped by an All-Mountain West Conference and Ray Guy semifinalist in Tyson Dyer — blocked kicks and kickoff returns.
Eliano seems like he could bring a bit of everything from the secondary to special teams at Ohio State.
And while this is his first stop as a Power-Five assistant coach, the numbers show that expectations remain high for the former Stephen F. Austin defensive back-turned coach.
