"Ohio State is an NFL Factory." - Daniel Jeremiah
Ohio State has always been known to develop top NFL talent in the secondary. In the past 20 years, the program has seen nine members of its secondary drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft, 16 drafted in the first three rounds and 28 drafted overall.
Under Urban Meyer, this phenomenon seems to just be amplified. For the second-straight season, Ohio State will send 75 percent of its secondary to the NFL. And this time, all three players — Gareon Conley, Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore — are expected to be selected in the first round.
If Ohio State wasn't considered Defensive Back U before, it certainly will be after this draft. And what's truly remarkable is that this factory of top secondary talent doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon, as the proverbial "next men up" are increasingly more and more capable themselves.
Next up at cornerback will be Denzel Ward, who is arguably the fastest player on the roster. It's worth noting that Ward battled with Lattimore, who will likely be a top-10 pick in this year's NFL Draft, for the starting cornerback spot this year and was listed as a co-starter on the depth chart throughout the season. If he was anywhere near as game-ready as the top-rated corner in the 2017 draft class, we could see three-straight years Ohio State has a corner drafted in the first round.
Opposite of him will likely be junior college transfer Kendall Sheffield. Sheffield was a former five-star cornerback who enrolled at Alabama his freshman year but after redshirting he transferred out in search of immediate playing time. That's exactly what he wants and expects to earn Ohio State – immediate playing time. He's game ready and appears to be the favorite for the open cornerback spot. If all goes according to plan, he could be a one-and-done Buckeye, and take his talents to the NFL after the season.
At safety, perhaps Damon Webb's best feature is his versatility. He arrived in Columbus as the nation's No. 5 cornerback coming out of high school and played extensively at the nickel position before transitioning to safety before the 2016 season. While he's never had the NFL hype of some of his teammates, Webb has more than proven his worth and will likely find himself an NFL home after next season.
The other safety spot has yet to be decided, but the competition will likely come down to Jordan Fuller and Erick Smith. It's difficult to extrapolate production from players who've barely sniffed the field, but with Hooker's emergence, nothing is out of the question.
And there's no shortage of talent behind them either. In the 2017 recruiting class, Urban Meyer brought in arguably the most talented group of freshman defensive backs ever. The group includes four top-30 cornerbacks, including the nation's top two in Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade, and the nation's No. 7 safety, Isaiah Pryor.
Ohio State cranking out six NFL defensive backs in three years is incredible, but with the talent in the current secondary as well as those waiting in the wings, there's no indication the development will slow down any time soon.
