According to Kerry Coombs, two-year starting safety Vonn Bell could compete at a different position at the next level the minute he declared for the NFL Draft.
"Those of you guys who know Vonn Bell, Vonn Bell could play corner in the NFL next year," Ohio State's cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator said Wednesday. "He has that skill set."
Bell became the ninth and final member of Ohio State's 2015 team to leave early for the NFL Draft, announcing his intentions to turn pro Jan. 5. He joined fellow safety Tyvis Powell and corner Eli Apple as underclassmen who bolted from Urban Meyer's program after a 12-1 season, leaving just one returning starter on the back end of the Buckeye defense — corner Gareon Conley.
"We lost the guys in the secondary," Meyer said. Wednesday. "That's why Jordan Fuller was such a key get at the 11th hour."
Fuller is one of five players Meyer, Coombs and the rest of Ohio State's staff signed Wednesday who can play defensive back. The others are Kareem Felder, Jahsen Wint, Rodjay Burns and Wayne Davis, a core group that addressed one of Ohio State's most pressing needs following an exodus of players.
Coombs, however, believes any returning player who is dubbed a cornerback could play safety and experience success. That's already happened in the past.
"I think what you should expect from the Buckeyes is this in the back end of our defense, we are really playing a lot of corners," Coombs said. "Those positions, the position that Vonn Bell played last year, while traditional football guys would call that a safety position, I'm going to tell you right now that's a corner position."
Can Lattimore stay healthy to help replace Powell and others in Ohio State's secondary?
Ohio State's back end is not only dealing with the departures of three vital cogs, but also a mess of injuries.
Cam Burrows is recovering from foot surgery and freshma Damon Arnette redshirted in 2015 with a lower leg injury. Erick Smith suffered an ACL injury that required surgery in the middle of last season. And, Marshon Lattimore's injury history is against him, as ailing hamstrings forced surgery and an eventual redshirt in 2014.
"When he has been healthy and able to play he's a fantastic player," Coombs said of Lattimore. "Our job is to get him healthy, consistently ... (Strength coach Mickey Mariotti) has done an intensive study of Marshon and his body and has had him tested on a number of different levels and planes and has rearranged some equipment in the weight room and some workouts to help with his particular injury issues. So far the progress is fantastic. Very excited to see what he's going to be able to do in the spring and looking very forward to Marshon being a huge contributor for us in the fall."
That remains to be seen, so the Buckeyes had to go and get some, long, athletic and capable bodies to round out the secondary. The area is Meyer's greatest concern.
"That's the challenge for our coaching staff to be nine strong and develop your guys," Meyer said. "The process started already two weeks ago. Very critical year for development."
And Coombs is convinced you'll see a vast array of cornerbacks between the lines in 2016, whether it be on the outside or the back end at safety.
"So those positions and the way we play our defense right now, particularly the nickel, which I would call the slot corner, the two outside guys and that inside — that field safety position are really corner job descriptions," Coombs said. "So you're going to see a lot of corners on the field in the fall."
