Denzel Burke, Ohio State’s top returning cornerback, is notorious for being unapologetically honest.
Knowing he’s never been shy about telling it like it is, one would be forgiven if they assumed he isn’t afraid to talk a little trash on the field, especially when his play backs it up.
But if you ask the Buckeyes’ wide receivers, it isn’t Burke who tops out among OSU’s cornerbacks in playful banter on the practice field.
Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate was asked Friday if Burke delivers the most smack talk among OSU’s secondary. Before the question could even finish, it was met with a resounding no.
“No, Number 1,” Tate said, referencing the No. 1 uniform Davison Igbinosun dons for the Buckeyes daily. “You’re going to feel No. 1 out there. You’re going to feel him, and then you’re going to hear him.”
Tate also lauded Igbinosun’s on-field ability, saying he’s a pest to go against when trying to make a play in the boundary.
Senior wideout Jayden Ballard echoed Tate’s sentiments as he named three cornerbacks on the team who are adept at talking smack, leading with Igbinosun.
Sophomore wideout Brandon Inniss is probably Davison’s equal in terms of trash talk from an offensive perspective. When Inniss and Davison matchup, there’s bound to be fireworks.
“Oh yeah, for sure. Me and (Igbinosun) have probably went at it every day so far in camp,” Inniss said Friday.
What’s Inniss’ way of trying to get under Igbinosun’s skin?
“Probably my main way of getting under his skin is to say some things I can’t say out loud here,” Inniss said with a wry smile.
The banter is mostly all good-hearted fun between teammates, but it also serves the competitive purpose of improving on-field play.
“I feel like that’s a good thing to have, that competitive edge,” Inniss said. “It helps us be great as well.”
Igbinosun himself is proud of his trash-talking skills, admitting it gives him an edge on the field.
“I would say me talking trash forces me to bring it every single day because I have to back it up,” Igbinosun said.
While Igbinosun is known for talking a good game, he’s more importantly developed a reputation for backing it up. Igbinosun transferred to OSU from Ole Miss last season and was a key cog in a defense that was second nationally in points allowed per game during the 2023 season.
Igbinosun started all 13 games last season, primarily on the opposite end of Burke, recording 59 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, five pass deflections and two fumble recoveries. Igbinosun played the most snaps of any Ohio State defensive player last year with 781 and was an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection for his efforts.
Five-star freshman wideout Jeremiah Smith has been one of the key talking points of OSU’s fall camp, and obviously for good reason given the hype that surrounds the potential phenom. It made Igbinosun all the more eager to go against him in practice, and Ohio State’s official Twitter account posted a clip of two reps of the pair duking it out against one another. Smith won the first rep, but Igbinosun bounced back on the next play.
Iron Sharpens Iron
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 7, 2024
@Jermiah_Smith1 x @DaveIgbinosun pic.twitter.com/x5Okmkevh2
“It’s super fun to win, but if he catches it on me, I’m not happy about that,” Igbinosun said of challenging Smith in practice. “Just going against a guy like Jeremiah is going to make Saturdays super easy. He forces me to play the ball because if you don’t play the ball against him, he’ll go and get it.”
Igbinosun could be seen talking trash to Smith again at Thursday’s practice after breaking up a pass intended for Smith in the end zone. Smith got the last laugh that time, though, as he responded by catching a deep ball against Igbinosun a few minutes later – though he isn’t as much of a trash-talker.
“When he deflected the ball, he said, ‘I’m here.’ I said, ‘OK, I'm going to be back,’” Smith said. “Then when I made a play, I just walked off.”
Ultimately, Igbinosun expects big things from himself and the defense in the 2024 season, a campaign that understandably has insanely high expectations surrounding it.
“I feel like this year I’m a lot more comfortable and I know everything that is going on in our defense,” Igbinosun said. “It’s very important, the biggest difference is knowing if I have help on this play and stuff like that.”
