re: I think you all might be off base a little and so could I. Chris Ash

Thank you for pointing out his misinformation.

Ohio State's defense was unacceptable under Fickell. It is the very reason that Ash was brought in by Urban Meyer. And it has paid off as the Buckeye defense has improved this year.

Ash left Arkansas for another school and he did so for less money while making disparaging remarks about the school and the state. It is understandable that Arkansas fans' opinions of him would be colored by their dislike of him. So keep that in mind.

So, you can solely take Arkansas fans' opinions of him to form your own thoughts if you wish. Or, you can consider their opinions of him along with the following facts:

- Ash has been successful as a DC at Wisconsin and Ohio State
- Bielema hired Ash to be his DC. Twice.
- Urban Meyer hired Ash to be his DC. After Fickell was already there.
- Ash's talent at Arkansas consisted of defensive players left behind by Bobby Petrino and John L Smith

I will now leave some article pieces:

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"We've competed against a Chris Ash defense before and I have respect for him as a coach," Meyer said when announcing the hiring of Ash. "I like the fact he has experience in the Big Ten Conference and that he is a great recruiter. He was highly recommended by everyone I spoke to." LINK

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Ash, who is 40, helped improve Arkansas' pass defense by more than 50 yards in his one season in Fayetteville, with the Razorbacks' defense finishing 72nd nationally in passing yards allowed this year after ranking 113th in 2012. LINK

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The two Wisconsin defenses Ash served as defensive coordinator for were solid. The 2011 unit led the Big Ten (conference games only) in total defense and pass defense efficiency, and it ranked fourth nationally in fewest passing yards allowed (163.6), 13th in scoring (19.0) and 15th in total defense (316.4). Ash's 2012 defense ranked 15th nationally in total defense (322.5), 17th in scoring (19.1), 18th in fewest passing yards allowed (193.6), 22nd in pass efficiency and 24th against the run (128.9). LINK

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Ohio State coach Urban Meyer hired Ash away from Arkansas after the 2013 season to help repair the Buckeyes’ pass defense. Ohio State, which ranked 110th nationally in pass defense a year ago, is 17th this year in yards allowed through the air, yielding only 188.2 yards per game. LINK

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Sure, Arkansas struggled a bit against the pass, giving up 235 yards a game and ranking 72nd nationally. But some of that can be chalked up to a year of transition and dealing with what was left over from the previous regime. LINK

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In 2012, the Badgers led the Big Ten and ranked third in the NCAA with a three-and-out percentage of 41.72, and their 5.23 three and outs per game topped the Big Ten and was fourth in the country. The Badgers' defense was 15th in the NCAA in total defense and tied for 19th in the country in scoring defense. In three games against Ohio State while at UW, the Badgers defense held the Buckeyes to less than 120 yards per game passing despite losing two of those games. Braxton Miller was Ohio State's quarterback in two of those games and Terrell Pryor was under center in the other. LINK

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Arkansas was very conservative on defense most of the year due to talent deficiencies in the secondary. Opposing receivers typically received pretty generous cushions in an effort to prevent big plays. It didn't always work – look at the game-winner for LSU to end the season – but Arkansas' defense did gradually improve through the season. I'm sure he wanted to attack more as most coaches say they want to, but we just didn't have the personnel to do it.

Fans were disappointed in basic tackling by the secondary, something for which he actively promotes himself. You can see a particularly egregious performance from Tevin Mitchel in the Ole Miss game on a play that went for a touchdown in the second half and essentially lost the game for us. LINK

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We know the Petrino staff barely recruited defense. I mean, Arkansas at one point this season gave up 111 straight points to South Carolina, Alabama, and Auburn, so fans will give the current coaches at least some blame for being that bad, but it was still talent more than anything else. After 2012, a really negative mentality became prominent in many of our players, and when things started to get bad this season, you could see it coming back to the surface, but the coaches deserve credit for somewhat righting the ship in November. Even though Arkansas didn't win, the players gave full effort – which didn't happen in November 2012. LINK

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Form your own judgments as you wish.

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Form your own judgments as you wish.

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Or lsu fans can ask themselves which arkansas defense was better, Smith's or Ash's. Essentially the same players.

The desperation is delicious. First coveting Robb and now sunshine pumping ash.

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The desperation is delicious. First coveting Robb and now sunshine pumping ash.

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There is no desperation. I don't even think Ash will be the DC at LSU so I have no reason to sunshine pump him.