When you receive a compliment from one of the most respected coaches in the game, it carries quite a bit of weight.
There were numerous coordinator hires across the college football landscape this year, but one in particular stuck out most to former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer.
In the midst of reshaping his coaching staff this offseason, Texas head coach Tom Herman chose to bring in defensive coordinator Chris Ash. The duo formed a relationship while coaching together at Ohio State years prior, although Ash most recently spent time at Rutgers.
Ash replaced Todd Orlando in Austin after a disappointing 7-5 season while struggling on the defensive side of the ball. At the time of the hire, Herman gushed over Ash’s attention to detail and ability to develop players.
He’s clearly not the only one excited for Ash’s potential at Texas.
When speaking with Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff College Football Extra, Meyer chose Ash as the top coordinator hire this offseason.
“The top coordinator hire, to me, in all of college football was Chris Ash. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around. What he’ll give to the Texas staff, he’s been a head coach. He was much more than a defensive coordinator. He was our defensive coordinator the year we won a national championship. I hired him. He came in and changed a lot of things on defense. Brought in rugby tackling. But beyond that, every player issue with things, I would always lean on him. He’s that good of a coach. He’s, by far, the best coordinator hire of the year. They’ve recruited well. I don’t know if they’ve recruited elite, but they’ve recruited well. You put Chris Ash, and I’ve talked to him a couple times, he’s impressed with the personnel on defense. I think we’ll see big-time improvement on Texas’ defense.”
That’s massive praise from one of the most successful coaches in the history of college football. Texas is off to a hot start after defeating UTEP by a score of 59-3 in their season opener, but consistency has been their Achilles heel in the past.
The Longhorns opened as a 16.5-point favorite over Texas Tech.