Ryan Day meeting with the media now. He says he thinks Ohio State has a lot more depth in its secondary this year than last year, and he expects a lot of defensive backs to see playing time this year.
CORNERBACKS Denzel Burke: 63 Ryan Watts: 49 Demario McCall: 15 Lejond Cavazos: 14 Because Cameron Brown was unavailable and Sevyn Banks was also held out of Thursday’s game with an injury, Burke and Watts were Ohio State’s starting cornerbacks against Minnesota. In his first game as a Buckeye, Burke played the most snaps of any Ohio State cornerback and by far the most snaps of any true freshman in the season opener. McCall, who moved to defense this offseason after playing running back and wide receiver for the first five years of his Ohio State career, and Cavazos, who was sidelined by an injury for his freshman year, also rotated in off the bench and made their debuts at cornerback for the Buckeyes on Thursday. SAFETIES Josh Proctor: 63 Ronnie Hickman: 62 Lathan Ransom: 39 Bryson Shaw: 15 Craig Young: 6 Marcus Hooker: Special teams only Cameron Martinez: Special teams only Marcus Williamson: Special teams only Proctor, the only player in Ohio State’s back seven on Thursday night who had previously started a game for the Buckeyes, was on the field for all but seven defensive plays until he suffered an injury in the middle of the fourth quarter. Shaw took his place in the lineup at free safety for the 15 snaps Proctor did not play against Minnesota, including Ohio State’s final eight defensive plays of the game. Hickman started and played all but 16 of Ohio State’s defensive snaps at the bullet position, which has finally become a very real part of the Buckeyes’ defense. As a bullet, Hickman spent most of the game lining up in the box as a strong safety but also occasionally dropped back to deep safety or moved outside to cornerback. Young, who competed with Hickman all offseason to be the starting bullet, ended up playing just six snaps in the first game. Ransom made his first career start at cover safety and was on the field for exactly half of Ohio State’s defensive plays against Minnesota. As the cover safeties have for the past two years, Ransom lined up primarily as a slot cornerback against the Gophers, though he came off the field in favor of the bullet on most plays where the Buckeyes had a third linebacker in the lineup. Williamson did not play any defensive snaps against Minnesota even though he was the Buckeyes’ starting cover safety last year.
Ref LB post. 7 - 10 yard cushion = too much room for opposing WR’s. Turn and run coverage = receptions. Heavy / press coverage. Jam the piss out of the WR at the line of scrimmage. Go Bucks
With Josh Proctor out for the season, Ryan Day says the Ohio State defense will explore all options at free safety, including potential position switches. https://t.co/lDsOmIlRsf— Eleven Warriors (@11W) September 15, 2021
“Cam Brown, he’s really my big bro for real. Since I came in, he’s always shown love and always giving me tips whenever I do something in a certain rep in practice. He’s always pushed me to be great, and he always wants me to be at my best.” - Denzel Burkehttps://t.co/6fWObLsQeY— Stephen Means (@Stephen_Means) September 25, 2021
Barnes says the Buckeyes had a log jam at cover safety, but that moving Ransom to free safety might have been necessary to give depth to that position with Josh Proctor being out. Barnes says Bryson Shaw has been "outstanding" this season, but that he can't physically play 90 snaps a game.
Ohio State CBs on 20+ yard targetsDenzel Burke🔺 10 targets🔺 1 catch allowed🔺 0 TDs (1 INT)Cameron Brown🔺 10 targets🔺 3 catches allowed🔺 0 TDs (1 INT) pic.twitter.com/tUEjFXvIhs— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 8, 2021
Lowest passer rating allowed among Big Ten CBs:🥇 Cameron Brown: 37.6🥈 Caesar Williams: 38.2🥉 Denzel Burke: 45.2 pic.twitter.com/fZkuptuz6u— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 10, 2021
I get it but if Ricks wanted to come.............Day has to make room and Brown is injury prone...... If Ohio State wants to maintain their position in college football, the program needs to adapt or die....... Saban is a killer..........he and Bama will do anything to win.......