Although Denzel Burke is expected to return this week, Ryan Day says JK Johnson and Jyaire Brown will continue seeing “significant time” as injury concerns linger at cornerback.
“It was too close from when it occurred to put him in the game. And now he's had a good week of practice, so great to see him back,” Day said during a press conference. “And yeah, we'll see. It may be something that we have to keep an eye on here for the remainder of the season and protect it. But we'll kind of see how it heals and how it does. But he's gonna be ready to roll this week, and excited to see him back on the field.
“This is a long season. We're gonna need all these guys coming down the stretch. That's why we try to prepare everybody and have everybody ready to go. We got to be able to control the things that we can control and keep getting better every day. And working on the mental mindset and toughness of being able to move on from the next play – good or bad – we move on to the next play because you have to go play the next one.
On a positive note for the Buckeyes, Johnson and Jyaire Brown received plenty of reps in the preseason, while Burke, Cameron Brown and Hancock were all banged up at one point or another. They may lack significant in-game experience, but Day, Walton and Knowles have had plenty of opportunities to evaluate their skills on the practice field against perhaps the best offense in the country.
Walton said Buckeye nickel safeties Tanner McCalister and Cameron Martinez also possess cornerback skills, should further injuries or poor performance necessitate any personnel realignment in the secondary. True freshman corner Ryan Turner saw his