Denzel Burke and Tim Walton are the latest Ohio State player and former Ohio State player/current Ohio State coach to sit down for a “Tradition Talk” conversation about Ohio State’s football history and their opportunity to make their own impression on it.
As each episode of the Ohio State-produced series has, the conversation between the current Ohio State cornerback and Ohio State’s secondary coach started with a discussion about all-time Buckeye greats. Burke listed Shawn Springs, Malcolm Jenkins, Denzel Ward, Jeff Okudah, Antoine Winfield and Vinnie Clark as six of the greatest cornerbacks in Ohio State history, while Walton included Jack Tatum, Neal Colzie and Mike Doss in addition to Springs, Jenkins, Winfield and Ward on his list of Ohio State’s best-ever DBs.
Next, Burke and Walton talked about the meaning of “BIA,” the Best in America abbreviation that has become the motto of Ohio State’s secondary.
“The best in everything that you do daily. Best in America, being best on and off the field, being recognized as one of the best in your position. That’s what BIA really means to me. And being remembered in the game,” Burke said.
Walton acknowledged that Ohio State has work to do to get back to that standard after several down years for the Buckeyes’ defense.
“The Best in America, that’s a big statement. I think we had that going for a while. I think we gotta get that back,” Walton said. “Get that standard back to where it used to be, man, where we have first-round draft picks, first-team All-Americans, first-team All-Big Tens, guys up for the Thorpe Award, things like that. That’s to me the standard of BIA, the absolute Best in America.”
Asked by Burke to name his favorite gameday tradition, Walton said his is Ohio State’s band performing Script Ohio. Walton then asked Burke what legacy he wants to leave at Ohio State.
“I want to be known as a great teammate. Someone you can really talk to. Obviously I want to leave a great legacy playing the game at corner. I want to leave here as one of the best corners to ever play the game at Ohio State. And just take care of the name on my back and put my name on the wall and live my life,” Burke said.
Burke then asked Walton what it means to him to be back at Ohio State as a coach after playing for the Buckeyes himself from 1990-93.
“It’s an awesome experience,” Walton said. “I had a chance to get mentored by some guys like Vinnie Clark, I met guys like Jack Tatum, William White, those guys used to come around and share their experience and teach us about the history and the legacy of this place. So now, to be back many years later in a different realm and now on the coaching side of it, it’s just unbelievable. Now I get a chance to see young men like yourself etch their name in stone here at the school, and it’s just been amazing to remember some of the old faces that were still around, and just to be a part of it from the other side, I can’t explain the excitement and joy that it is to be back.
“Obviously Ohio State is one of the premier schools in the country, and to get a chance to have a long career here from the beginning when you’re 17-18 years old and then now to be back in your fifties, to be able to still experience that and see that, the legacy and the tradition here only gets better. It’s getting better. So looking forward to a lot more years, and it’s been a blessing.”
The conversation between Burke and Walton is the fifth one released by Ohio State as part of its “Tradition Talk” series, which has also featured conversations between Brian Hartline and Marvin Harrison Jr., Steele Chambers and James Laurinaitis, Devin Jordan and Emeka Egbuka and Jack Sawyer and C.J. Barnett.
