Considering the passing output Oregon recorded, it’s no surprise a ton of storylines around the Rose Bowl have focused on Ohio State’s cornerbacks.
Denzel Burke had his worst career game against the Ducks in mid-October, and the rest of the Ohio State defense couldn’t do much to slow down Oregon’s vertical attack either. But an underrated talking point might be the utilization of Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Mathews hardly played against the Ducks the first time around and was visibly frustrated as he stood helpless from the sidelines and watched Oregon move the ball at will. In the seven games since, Mathews has played a much larger role for the Buckeyes, seemingly rotating in every other series. He’s played both outside corner positions and nickel on occasion.
“I'm just trying to just make the best of all my opportunities, you know, just do whatever I can to help the team win,” Mathews told Eleven Warriors at Rose Bowl media day Monday. “That's really all I've been thinking about the last couple of weeks. I think (I’ve improved in) confidence and just my knowledge of the game, playing faster, you know, knowing what's coming before it comes, just things like that.”
Mathews’ position coach, Tim Walton, has been proud of how the cornerback has handled himself in the second half of the season.
“He's a competitive guy. He understands the game. He has position flexibility. He plays both corner spots. He plays nickel. And his love for football, I mean, he's a football guy," Walton said. "His play has really helped us, and he gives us more flexibility to do different things with him. And to keep our guys ready to go, I mean, he's a great addition to us. We consider him a starter.”
Mathews grew up fond of the Rose Bowl. On Monday, he explained how he watched the famed USC vs. Texas national championship in 2006 with Vince Young’s heroics over and over again on YouTube. He watched C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s monster games in the 2022 Rose Bowl, too.
“Super excited,” Mathews said of his opportunity to play in the contest. “Rose Bowl is one of my dream bowl games I ever want to play in. So I finally get to play in a Rose Bowl, so I'm just going to go out there and just have a lot of fun.”
But more importantly, he knows the stakes are high for Ohio State as it hopes to advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals. He’ll be tasked with guarding arguably the best receiving corps the Buckeyes have seen all year, led by Tez Johnson and Evan Stewart.
“Whatever they throw at us, we’re just going to be ready,” Mathews said. “I think it’s going to be a fun game, and we’re just going to see.”
In 11 games this season, Mathews has recorded 18 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
“He's just excited to play,” Walton said of Mathews’ mindset this week. “I mean, he's been playing a lot in the last seven weeks on football. Been playing a lot, he's doing his job, he's really helping us out. So, we just kind of take it one game at a time, man, and go play ball. And like I said, we're excited about his energy and passion that he brings to the game.”
Regardless of how Wednesday goes, Mathews will be counted on in a big way for the 2025 season. Ohio State is set to lose Burke and Jordan Hancock, and Davison Igbinosun could also declare for the NFL Draft. Burke knows he’ll have an even bigger role ahead for next year’s team.
“I just want to grow as a leader,” Mathews said of his offseason goals. “I think I'm a great leader now. Just want to grow as a leader. There's going to be younger guys in the room. You know, I'm more of an older guy now. So I think just being a better leader and just preparing myself for what's coming.”
