COLUMBUS – Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker and Gareon Conley were all first-round picks in the 2017 NFL draft.
That leaves Damon Webb as the only returning starter in Ohio State’s secondary.
Webb isn’t projected as a future first-round pick, at least not yet. The stars of this year’s secondary, like Hooker and Lattimore last year, could be players who haven’t started a game yet. Webb is expected to be a leader of this year’s Ohio State secondary, though, because of his experience compared to the Buckeyes’ other defensive backs.
The senior safety from Detroit believes it is "very important" for him to play a leadership role.
"Last year, they (Lattimore, Hooker and Conley) set the standard," Webb said. "It’s definitely up to me to be a leader, show them what it means to call ourselves B.I.A. (Best in America), with no drop-off or no lagging off. So it’s definitely up to me to set the standard and keep the tradition going."
Greg Schiano, Ohio State’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach, has been impressed with the way Webb has stepped up.
"Coming out of spring, I felt he was the one guy who practiced like a big-time player, and he’s picked up right where he left off," Schiano said of Webb. "He’s in tremendous condition, best shape of his life. He understands it better than anybody in the back end. We need him to have a big year."
Webb realized he needed to step up when Hooker, Conley and Lattimore all decided to declare for early entry into the 2017 NFL draft. While Webb was eligible to declare for the draft too, he decided to stay, and now he believes it’s on his shoulders to make sure the Ohio State secondary continues to perform at an elite level.
"It’s just knowing that you’ve got to take on a responsibility," Webb said. "There’s younger guys looking up to you. Everything you do, they’re watching, so the spotlight’s on you to make the right decision and come out to practice. If they see you not doing right, they’re not going to do right. If you’re keeping up, having enthusiasm, they’re going to have enthusiasm. So it’s just up to me going out each and every day, knowing that I got people looking up to me, I got to bring the juice every day."
Webb was viewed as the weak link in Ohio State’s 2016 secondary, but it’s hard not to be when the other defensive backs are the field were Hooker, Lattimore and Conley. Even Denzel Ward, who played regularly as Ohio State’s third cornerback last year, is considered to be a potential future first-round pick. That said, Schiano said Webb played a key role in last year’s secondary too, as Webb was the primary on-field play caller for that unit.
Webb personally believes he played well last season, but he’s been working to improve nonetheless all offseason.
"I feel like I played good last year. I just want to work on some of the routes that we played in different coverages and adjusting to them," Webb said. "I definitely worked on a lot this spring and this fall."
Schiano isn’t yet sure who his other starting safety will be, or if multiple players will see regular playing time at that spot; Erick Smith and Jordan Fuller are currently competing for that starting spot, while true freshman Isaiah Pryor and redshirt freshman Jahsen Wint are also pushing for playing time. Schiano does expect, though, that Webb will be a mainstay on the back end of the defense.
"You’d love to be able to play more than two (safeties). That would be ideal. But you’re not going to do it at the cost of performance," Schiano said. "The one guy that you want out there is D-Webb because he’s kind of, he runs things."
