With Ohio State's top three cornerbacks sidelined, two underclassmen made their first career starts in the Buckeyes' Big Ten opener.
Redshirt freshman JK Johnson and true freshman Jyaire Brown got the nod from position coach Tim Walton following injuries that ruled out Denzel Burke, Cameron Brown and Jordan Hancock ahead of kickoff against Wisconsin in Columbus.
Burke and Cameron Brown both started each of the first three games of the season for the Buckeyes, and Hancock was projected to begin the year as Ohio State's top backup at corner.
Despite not being listed on Ohio State's initial status report Saturday evening, Burke did not come out of the tunnel for final warmups in uniform as he sported a cast over his right hand.
Denzel Burke has a cast on his hand: pic.twitter.com/L6q5dGicCB
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 24, 2022
Cameron Brown left the Buckeyes' Week 3 matchup with Toledo with an apparent injury in the first half, and Hancock hasn't taken a defensive snap all season after suffering an injury in preseason camp. Both were listed as unavailable for the Buckeyes two-and-a-half hours before kickoff.
Johnson played in just one game as a true freshman in 2021, but saw 83 snaps over the last two weeks for the Buckeyes. Jyaire Brown, the No. 8 recruit in Ohio in the 2022 class, had just 27 snaps under his belt entering the weekend.
