Young Players Yearning for Playing Time in Crowded Ohio State Defensive Backfield

By Eric Seger on July 2, 2015 at 2:15 pm
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Ohio State's rise under Urban Meyer can be directly attributed to recruiting and recruiting well.

According to 247Sports, the Buckeyes owned a top-5 recruiting class in each of Meyer's first three years (2012-14), while finishing with the seventh best group this season.

The result of such stellar recruiting is a surplus of young talent at almost every position. As the game of football goes, however, only 11 individuals can play at any one time.

With so much talent returning from the 2014 College Football Playoff National Championship team — just a total of eight starters are gone as a result of graduation — movement up the depth chart by young players is difficult.

An area that has one vacancy, though, is the defensive backfield, with the exit of two-year starter and first team All-Big Ten cornerback Doran Grant.

Redshirt sophomore Eli Apple secured the corner spot opposite Grant a season ago, but the latter's spot was up for grabs come spring practice. By the Spring Game, Meyer had named his replacement.

"Gareon Conley is pencilled in now,” Meyer said April 18. “We’re going to make the call to the family and say your son earned a right to start at Ohio State.”

Conley, a sophomore, earned the right for now, but it's by no means promised. He primarily played on special teams a year ago despite being listed as co-starter along with Apple all year.

Young blood like Damon Webb, Marshon Lattimore and a crop of freshmen led by Eric Glover-Williams aren't going to let Conley have it when fall camp opens in a month.

Conley

"Damon Webb is nipping at his heels and he wants that job," cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs said this spring. "I expect him to play corner. I think it’s competition, competition, competition. I think he’s a very, very good football player."

Conley added weight to his frame to help better his chance at consistent production and is aware of the push being made by the young guys, especially since his track record as a starter (see Michigan State last year) is against him.

"No spot is guaranteed,” he said this spring. “You’ve gotta compete every day for your spot and my teammates always push me and I just know I’ve gotta come out every day and be on my toes.”

At safety, Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell return for at least one more season (Powell is a redshirt junior, Bell a true junior) at the back end of Ohio State's defense.

Both were stout during the title run — a combined 168 tackles, 10 interceptions and 12 passes defended — but highly touted recruits wait in the wings there, too.

Former four-star recruit Erick Smith tallied a pair of interceptions in the spring game, showing great ball skills and a nose for the football once it is in the air.

Cam Burrows, another four-star recruit, sees himself a "just a DB," with the ability to contribute in the nickel package or wherever the coaches need him.

“Cam Burrows has probably invested the most amount of time, not only in the unit, but on defense and maybe on this football team this offseason in terms of trying to put in extra work to try and make himself better so that’s been fun to watch,” safeties coach Chris Ash said.

It'll be tough to crack the starting lineup with Powell and Bell ahead of them, but a load of other Big Ten teams would be glad to have Burrows and Smith on their first units this fall.

“The whole unit in my opinion is working hard every single day,” Ash said. “They’ve shown up to try and get better and they’ve really bought into the culture that we’re trying to have in the room and that’s been great.”


Meyer's coaching staff believes starting positions are won and lost during spring practice, evident by the head coach tagging Conley as the guy to replace Grant in 2015.

He cannot take that declaration lightly, though, with guys like Webb and Lattimore (when healthy) chomping at the bit to see the field.

The same goes for Bell and Powell at safety. Smith looks more than ready to play well if either of them goes down with an injury or must be held out for another reason.

But no matter how you slice it, the Buckeyes have depth in the defensive backfield — regardless who plays.

“I love my room right now, I love my unit,” Coombs said. “They are really working at their craft, they’re studying themselves, they’re grading themselves every day. They show up ready to work.”

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