Nobody outside the Ohio State program expected a breakout season from Denzel Burke in 2021.
Despite the standards he may have had for his own performance as a true freshman, the Buckeyes’ top cornerback will face outside pressure and lofty expectations entering a season for the first time as a sophomore.
But if you’re familiar with Burke’s confidence and steely demeanor, that may not mean all that much after all. If anything, the experience Burke accrued as the overall snaps leader for the Buckeye defense last year only makes him more self-assured.
“I would just say I'm a lot more confident. Got my feet under me, got a year under me,” Burke said during a post-practice interview session Tuesday. “My job is just to be specific with my details in the game and just take care of the little things out there. And then everything will take care of itself. … I just feel like, in terms of me, I'm good. I just feel like this team is just way different than last year, and it's gonna be really special this year.”
Burke was somewhat reluctant to speak in detail about his own progress or personal goals for 2022. Instead, the second-year defensive back preferred to discuss the strides taken by the Buckeye defense as a whole amid an expansive coaching regime change over the offseason.
After suffering two regular-season defeats last season, Burke said “our bond together is stronger” in 2022 and that “we really love each other.” Burke said even the offseason training was more difficult under Jim Knowles and company as the whole defense tries to make a dramatic turnaround from one season to the next.
“Oh, (it’s) a big change. And you will see it on September 3rd.”– Denzel Burke on the Buckeyes' defensive improvements
“Honestly, I just feel like all of the offseason training we did – I've only been here for a year – this summer was way harder than last year,” Burke said. “And I feel like those workouts they put us through, all the events we went to, it really brought us together and we went through a lot of shared pain last year. So, got a lot of revenge coming.
“Just a lot more group workouts, a lot more stations, we had a lot more team runs, mat drills. You name it, everything.”
With Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes gone, Tim Walton has taken over the reins as secondary and cornerbacks coach in Columbus. Burke said the change has yielded positive results both on and off the field, and that Walton shares his enthusiasm for creating more turnovers in a corner room that picked off just three passes a year ago.
“Turnovers win games, really. And I try to emphasize in the DB room, Coach Walt, too, you know we got to touch the rock,” Burke said. “And once we do that, that changes the flow of the game. … I just feel like he helped us a lot off the field mainly, and that kind of just translates to the field. And he teaches us a lot of the little things, take care of the little things off the field, and he's a great mentor, coach and person to be around.”
In his introductory press conference with the Buckeyes, Walton was careful not to talk in depth about his first impressions of the talent he inherited at Ohio State, preferring to wait until he had ample time to evaluate their game on the field. With the season kicking off next week, though, Walton had plenty to say about Burke on Tuesday.
Walton already knew Burke was a special talent after watching what the cornerback did as a freshman. Now he’s affirmed that notion with his own eyes going into his first season on the Buckeye coaching staff.
“Well, obviously he had to have a skill set. This is big-time football, so you have to have a skill set. So again, you go watch him, he's a competitive guy,” Walton said. “He's passionate about playing the game, man. So when it's really important to you, you do all the little things to keep getting better. And that’s what he’s done since I've been here. He’s gotten better and better. He’s worked at it. He can take the coaching. He can make the corrections. And he loves to play, man.”
Burke’s workmanlike nature has impressed Walton, who said Burke is easy to coach on top of the advanced skills he possesses on the football field.
“(He’s) very competitive, and he tries to detail his body of work. He tries to fix issues," Walton said. "He takes coaching really well. He's serious about the game. Practice is serious for him, and he's dialed in and in tune to all the little things. So when you get to that point, it becomes natural for you. So he's a guy that's a great competitor, and he's really dialed in to playing this football game.”
Walton said Burke is “dialed in technique-wise” and “really works at understanding the game.” The former Buckeye defensive back said all of those traits have resulted in tangible improvement for his star corner over the course of their first several months working together.
Fellow second-year cornerback JK Johnson said seeing Burke’s success as a freshman “gives us the idea that we can do it too.” Both Johnson and redshirt freshman Jordan Hancock – potentially Ohio State’s No. 3 corner behind Burke and Cameron Brown this season – could play important roles as reserves in 2021 given the injury issues several corners have dealt with during camp.
Part of Burke’s maturation process involves taking on a leadership role as he’s focused his efforts on helping players like Hancock and Johnson get up to speed ahead of the season opener.
“I just feel like they got their feet under them. They're starting to get a feel for the game,” Burke said. “The leadership in our room is really good, I've been able to teach them the little things and just have them trust their technique and trust their game, because they're some dogs.”
Banged up at the end of last season and at times during fall camp, Burke said he expects the entire cornerback room to be at full strength by the Notre Dame game. And although most of the same faces return for the Ohio State defense this season, Burke said the group will look plenty different when it hits the field under the lights at Ohio Stadium in a little over a week.
“Oh, (it’s) a big change,” Burke said. “And you will see it on September 3rd.”
