2025 Buckeye Breakdown: The Cornerbacks

To be an Ohio State Buckeye cornerback is to join a fraternity of legends. The program is one of the few that can debate “DBU,” boasting several first-round NFL Draft picks. Last year, Ohio State’s secondary allowed the fewest passing touchdowns and the third-fewest passing yards in the country. In the regular season, the Buckeyes gave up more than 201 yards only once. They held opponents under 100 yards three times.  Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock left for the NFL, leaving just one starter. Ohio State has recruited and developed the cornerback position well. There is reason for optimism heading into 2025. The Buckeye cornerbacks call themselves B.I.A. (Best in America) for a reason.

2025 Buckeye Breakdown: The Cornerbacks

The Veteran

The lone returning starter is Davison Igbinosun. Last year, Igbinosun was a wild card. At his best, he looked like a first-round pick. At his worst, he was a flag magnet. Igbinosun is one of the stickier corners in the country. He can hang with just about anyone. When he wasn’t being flagged for holding or pass interference, the former Ole Miss Rebel was as lock-down as any. The issue was those penalties. Igbinosun led the country with 16, including a dozen for pass interference. Thankfully, he is well aware of his faults. “I want to improve on the penalties,” Igbinosun told ESPN when explaining his decision to stay at Ohio State. “I had too many, I want to clean that up.” He was considered a fringe third-round pick if he declared. He returned to develop into a first-round talent. If he can cut those penalties in half, he could be a first-rounder.

The Next Men Up

At this point, it looks like Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Lorenzo Styles Jr. are headed for starting roles. This has been a long time coming for Mathews. Over the last two seasons, he’s earned considerable snaps. Last year, he had the third-most among Buckeye corners, only behind Burke and Igbinosun. After not seeing the field in the loss to Oregon, Mathews began to factor into the rotation. That likely contributed to the defense’s improvement. The third-year corner has lofty expectations for 2025. He’s been lining up outside opposite Igbinosun. With another offseason of technique refinement, it’s time for the former top player from Ohio in the 2023 class to break out. The bigger question is at the slot/nickel corner. Early projections have Styles leading. The elder brother of Sonny Styles, Lorenzo Jr., has waited his turn ever since transferring from Notre Dame. He has been used sparingly over the last two seasons, yet still earned 161 snaps last year across 16 games. Styles has worked in the slot for two seasons now. Stepping up should be easy for the fifth-year corner. However, there is some serious talent down the depth chart knocking on the door to supplant him.