COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day announced the addition of two defensive coaches to his staff, Tim Walton and Perry Eliano.
Walton, a former Buckeye cornerback, is returning to Ohio State to serve as the team's secondary coach/cornerbacks coach.
He returns to Columbus after having spent the last 11 seasons in the National Football League. For the last three years, he was the cornerbacks coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
This past season, Jacksonville ranked ninth in the league in fewest touchdown passes allowed and 17th in fewest passing yards allowed.
“We’re very excited to welcome Tim and his family back to Ohio State,” Day said. “As a former Buckeye captain, he comes here with a deep appreciation for how special this place is. And, his experience at both the collegiate and NFL levels make him someone who is uniquely qualified to develop the back end of our defense.”
Walton was a four-year letterwinner with the Buckeyes and a member of the 1993 Big Ten champion team coached by John Cooper.
He played in 31 games and totaled 159 tackles, 10 interceptions and 11 pass breakups.
Eliano, who served as the cornerbacks coach at Cincinnati for the past two seasons, will be the Buckeyes' safeties coach.
The Bearcats had the nation's best pass defense in 2021. They finished No.1 nationally in pass efficiency defense, No. 2 in passing yards allowed, No. 3 in interceptions and No. 4 opponent completion percentage.
“Perry’s work the last two years at Cincinnati speaks for itself,” Day said. “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.”
Walton and Eliano join Jim Knowles and Justin Frye as new coaching hires for Ohio State this offseason.
Knowles was hired as the Buckeyes' new defensive coordinator back in December and Frye was announced as new offensive line coach and associate head coach on Jan. 11.
