Ronnie Hickman was everywhere last year.

Wherever the ball ended up, the redshirt sophomore safety was in the vicinity, recording 36 more tackles than any other player on Ohio State’s defense, adding two interceptions, a forced fumble and a sack.

It was a safety-driven defense, even before Jim Knowles spoke it into existence upon his arrival from Stillwater as Ohio State’s new defensive coordinator.

It’s a defense with a new look, Hickman won’t discount that. But heading into his fourth season with the program, the safety’s role isn’t much different.

“Listen, last year it was a chance for me to make a play, and I was able to do that and I’m going to do the same thing this year,” Hickman said. “So I’m looking forward to having another good year.”

To Hickman, safeties always have to be at the center of everything, being vocal, making calls, being that “quarterback of the defense.” With Knowles, not much has changed in that respect. The now-redshirt junior is still communicating in the same way with the rest of the defense, describing it simply as the “safety kind of mentality you got to have.”

The approach won’t change, but Hickman’s position on the field is set to change slightly.

Instead of being that Bullet or boundary safety he was last season, Knowles has Hickman as his defense’s Adjuster or middle safety, taking control as that “quarterback,” while being expected to do everything the Buckeyes need him to do, from reading the quarterback, making plays on the ball and filling run gaps to covering space and covering an opposing offense’s tight end.

“All those things, I feel like a safety needs to be able to do,” Hickman said. “And I feel like I’m equipped for that.”

The way Hickman sees Knowles’ defense, the Adjuster is just the Bullet position, now called the “Bandit” in the former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator’s scheme, in the middle spot. Both positions are interchangeable.

And even with the slight changes and the different placement on the field, change is nothing new for the fourth-year safety. Since arriving on campus in 2019, Hickman has been led by five different defensive play-callers — Greg Mattison, Jeff Hafley, Matt Barnes, Kerry Coombs and now Knowles — with four different secondary coaches: Hafley, Barnes, Coombs and now Perry Eliano solely as a safeties coach.

“You definitely add some more tools to your toolbox,” Hickman said of the versatility he’s acquired over the course of his Ohio State career. “Just being exposed to different techniques, playing different receivers, playing different coverages and stuff like that, it can only help you.”

When Knowles first arrived, Hickman, like every other member of the Ohio State defense, was admittedly, a bit nervous. He had questions he wanted to have answered.

But as the spring game inches closer, the fourth-year safety sees progress. He sees comfort, even with a lot of room to improve. He sees a defense that has made great strides over the course of spring camp.

As Hickman prepares to try and follow up his breakout redshirt sophomore season, he’s not feeling the pressure. He’s comfortable, going out onto the field, getting work in each and every day.

It’s what he does, setting the example along with veteran safeties like Josh Proctor and Kourt Williams II: a tandem that has high expectations in Knowles’ defensive scheme.

Even before Knowles arrived, Hickman knew what a safety-driven defense looked like. Now, heading into 2022, it’s something he just wants to build on.

“Just got to set an example for those guys and just keep maintaining the standard that we have here,” Hickman said.