Ohio State released statements on Friday, making the hirings of Perry Eliano and Tim Walton official. The news was reported that the Buckeyes would be adding the two new staff members on Thursday.

Eliano had been the cornerbacks coach at Cincinnati since 2020. This year, he coached Thorpe winner Coby Bryant and first-team All-American Sauce Gardner.

Eliano will bring two decades of coaching experience with him to Ohio State. He spent 10 years at the FCS level before jumping to the FBS. The newest member of the Buckeyes staff was at UTSA (2011-15), Bowling Green (2016-17) and New Mexico (2018-19).

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Before he jumped into the FBS ranks, Eliano had stops at Stephen F. Austin (2001-02), Central Arkansas (2003-04, 2006-10) and Sam Houston (2005).

Walton has been the cornerbacks coach with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars since 2019. He hasn’t been on a college sideline since 2008, when he was the defensive coordinator at Memphis.

Walton played college football at Ohio State and went into coaching shortly after his college career ended. Before heading to the NFL, he had stops with Bowling Green, Memphis, Syracuse, LSU and Miami.

In 2003, Walton was the defensive backs coach for LSU under head coach. That year, the Tigers went on to win a national championship, Saban’s first as a head coach in the college ranks.

Ohio State is coming off an 11-2 season in 2021, falling short of its goal to win the B1G and compete for a national championship. Ryan Day is hoping to fix that with these defensive changes.