Denzel Burke’s absence from the second half of the Cotton Bowl was due to injury, not performance.
Ryan Day said Sunday that Burke was held out for the second half against Texas due to an “upper extremity issue” but that Burke will be available to play in next week’s national championship game.
“He'll be available for the next game. He was dealing with an upper extremity issue that we felt like at the time was the right thing to do to hold him. Obviously we listen to the doctors and we get the feedback from Denzel, and we felt like Jermaine was playing well at the time. So that was the decision that was made. But Denzel will be ready to play in this game.”
Burke was replaced at cornerback by Jermaine Mathews Jr. for the remainder of the game after Texas wide receiver Silas Bolden broke a tackle attempt by Burke on a catch that went for a 24-yard gain. While Day did not specify whether Burke suffered the injury on that play, he said Burke’s removal from the game was strictly based on his health, not his performance.
Denzel Burke was substituted out after allowing a 24-yard reception (the only catch and target against him in the game) with 49 seconds left in the second quarter and did not play the rest of the game.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 11, 2025
Jermaine Matthews Jr. (47 snaps) played more than Burke (28) against Texas. pic.twitter.com/hIy2BPKtQM
“It wasn't about the performance part of it, it had to do with the injury,” Day said.
The injury may have also occurred on the game’s previous play, an 8-yard run by Arch Manning on 4th-and-1, on which Burke landed awkwardly on his shoulder.
A closer look at the play Denzel Burke suffered a potential shoulder injury:
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 12, 2025
He is taken to the ground hard by the Texas RB and it could either be how the RB blocked him or the one arm supporting Burkes fall. pic.twitter.com/00PwhRjPSv
With Burke sidelined, Mathews played his highest defensive snap count of the season (47 plays) and did what the Buckeyes needed to him to do to earn a 28-14 win over Texas. He allowed only two catches for seven yards on 30 coverage snaps, though he was also hit with a pass interference penalty just prior to the Buckeyes’ game-winning goal-line stand.
Day said Mathews graded out a champion for his play against Texas and that Ohio State will feel comfortable playing Mathews as much as needed against Notre Dame.
“I think everybody feels comfortable putting Jermaine in the game based on the way that he's played this year, the way that he's practiced this year,” Day said. “You have an opportunity to earn trust in your coaches and your teammates every day, and when you get to this point in January, this is from the whole offseason, all of the preseason and during the season. And we've talked about how depth is going to be important in this moment a ton throughout the season, and Jermaine’s done a good job. And I think everybody trusts the fact that when he goes in the game, he's going to do his job, and that's it.
“I felt like he played well, he graded out a champion, and he's a very competitive player. He loves the competition. He loves his teammates. And he's a gritty type of guy that loves being a Buckeye, loves his teammates, loves again to compete. So when his number’s called, he'll be ready to make a play in this game as well.”
