Jeffrey Okudah’s playing time came earlier than expected in Ohio State’s 62-14 win against Maryland on Saturday.
While Ohio State typically rotates Denzel Ward, Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield as its top three cornerbacks, Okudah became the next man up when Ward was ejected for targeting during the first quarter of Saturday’s game.
Okudah is set to join the first-team cornerback rotation again for at least the first two quarters of this Saturday’s game against Nebraska, as Arnette is suspended for the first half of this week’s game after incurring a targeting penalty of his own in the third quarter against Maryland.
The Buckeyes abandoned their usual cornerback rotation after Ward’s ejection this past weekend – Arnette and Sheffield played every cornerback snap with Ohio State’s 4-3 base defense until the third quarter, when the Buckeyes began taking their defensive starters out of the game – but turned to Okudah to play as their third cornerback when they deployed their nickel defense in third-down passing situations.
Despite being the inexperienced man on the field when he checked into the game, Okudah gave the Buckeyes shutdown coverage on his side of the field.
Between his snaps with the first-team nickel defense and later in both base and nickel packages with the second-team defense, Okudah played a total of 27 snaps against Maryland. That marked his third straight game in which he played at least 23 total snaps, but it was the first game in which it was a significant portion of those snaps came alongside the rest of Ohio State’s starting defense.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer was pleased with what he saw from Okudah in Saturday’s game.
"He’s on a steady incline," Meyer said of Okudah. "He’s a true freshman, one of the top recruits in America, and we thought we’d get some production out of him. I know everybody is very excited about his future, and it’s time for him to go. He’s part of the rotation now."
Ohio State cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs also likes what he has seen from Okudah this season.
"He works really hard," Coombs said last Wednesday. "He’s going to be in there after practice watching film. He was in there last night after practice watching film. He understands what it takes to be successful. And he’s working really hard at it."
Coombs said Okudah, who has played 89 total defensive snaps in Ohio State’s first six games and has also been a regular participant on special teams, has already played more snaps than any other true freshman cornerback since Coombs and Meyer arrived in 2012. As Coombs noted, Ohio State has had four cornerbacks selected in the first round of the past four NFL drafts – Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Eli Apple and Bradley Roby – and none of them played as true freshmen.
Okudah has played as a true freshman partially out of necessity, as Ward, Arnette and Sheffield are the only scholarship cornerbacks on the roster who are not true freshmen. But it’s also because the five-star recruit from Grand Prairie, Texas, has impressed his coaches since he’s stepped on campus.
"I think he’s really good," Coombs said. "Rare for a freshman here."
“He understands what it takes to be successful. And he’s working really hard at it.”– Kerry Coombs on Jeffrey Okudah
Okudah remains likely to see the bulk of his playing time in the nickel defense on Saturday, checking in as the third cornerback and playing on the outside – with Sheffield or Ward kicking inside to play the slot, where Arnette usually plays in the nickel defense and Okudah has not played this season.
A strong performance in the first half against Nebraska, however, could potentially lead to even more playing time with the starters down the stretch of the season. While Arnette and Sheffield have performed better against weaker competition in recent weeks, they struggled early in the year, which could open the door for Okudah to move up the depth chart if they struggle again and he plays well. It’s also possible the Buckeyes could expand their regular cornerback rotation to four players to keep their starters at the position increasingly fresh.
Regardless of how it might ultimately play out, Ohio State will be relying on Okudah – who is still listed on the roster as No. 1, but has worn No. 29 in most games in order to avoid duplicating numbers on special teams with Johnnie Dixon – to perform well in playing time that matters this weekend.
"To come in here and play as a freshman is hard," Coombs said. "It’s hard. But we expect you to be able to do that."
