Cornerback Jeffrey Okudah is the key to Ohio State’s secondary

Embed from Getty Images Projected to be Ohio State’s next great cornerback from the time he arrived in Columbus, Ohio in 2017,  Jeffrey Okudah  has seen steady increase in playing time over the course of his first two seasons as a Buckeye. This season Okudah will be the focal point of the secondary.

Out of Texas, Okudah was ranked as the No. 8 overall prospect and the No. 1 cornerback prospect in the recruiting class of 2017. Okudah earned playing time in Ohio State’s cornerback rotation as a true freshman in 2017. The then freshman appeared in all 14 of the Buckeyes games and played on defensive snaps in 10 of them, all the while also being a regular on the special teams units.

Jeffrey Okudah made one start in the secondary in 2018, but gained more playing time as the season went on. Okudah had 32 total tackles with 8 pass breakups. Jeffery battled through inconsistent play and issues with penalties to become a solid dependable player.

Jeffery Okudah will enter the 2019 season as the starting outside cornerback.  At 6′ 1″ he is blessed with excellent length and speed, making steady improvement should make Jeffrey one of the Big Ten’s best defensive backs.

Last season the Buckeyes defense was plagued by mistakes. The secondary drew the second most penalties in the Big Ten.  That will need to be cleaned up this season. It would greatly help Ohio State if Jeffrey Okudah were  to blossom into the consistent shutdown cornerback they believe he can be.