The two coaches and four of the top defensive backs who are tasked with maintaining the “Best in America” standard in Ohio State’s secondary met with the media on Tuesday.
Ohio State co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Tim Walton and defensive passing game coordinator/safeties coach Matt Guerrieri held their preseason interview sessions on Tuesday, as did the secondary’s four most established veterans: Cornerbacks Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews Jr., nickelback Lorenzo Styles Jr. and safety Caleb Downs.
In their respective interview sessions, Igbinosun talked about what he’s doing to try to cut down on penalties, Downs talked about how he’s stepped up to become a vocal leader and team captain, Mathews talked about his high expectations for himself and Styles discussed his excitement to play a major role in Ohio State’s secondary for the first time.
We’ve compiled videos, notes and quotes below from all six of Ohio State’s secondary interview sessions.
Davison Igbinosun
“Corner is the hardest position in football, so you got to have that supreme confidence and just know that you're that guy.”– Igbinosun on the mentality he and Jermaine Mathews Jr. play with
- After drawing the most penalties (16) of any player in the FBS last season, Igbinosun said he’s worked hard this offseason on turning his head more in coverage so he draws fewer penalties. “The problem wasn't me holding at the line, the problem was me getting my head around and just playing the football.”
- On Jermaine Mathews Jr. and the energy he brings to practice every day: “Jermaine gives me life … he feeds off me and I feed off him.”
- On Caleb Downs’ leadership: “Caleb's been a leader since he's gotten here. I call him Coach Downs, actually. He just knows so much football. So he's a natural leader in that sense.”
- On Devin Sanchez: “He doesn't move like a freshman corner. He seems very ready.”
- Why did Igbinosun stay at Ohio State for his senior season? “I want to be a first-round draft pick.”
Caleb Downs
“I feel like God has blessed me with an innate ability to see the game, and I feel like it’s my job to share it with my teammates. So there’s no other way to say it. If I want us to be the best team that we can be, I have to share that knowledge with everybody else.”– Caleb Downs on coaching his teammates up
- On being named a captain: “I think it just shows God’s presence in my life, the ability that he’s given me to move here last year and have the impact that I’ve had. To create the relationships that I’ve had with my teammates. I think it’s just a blessing to be in the position that I’m in.”
- Downs says he’s being more vocal this year than he was last year. “Last year we had a lot of guys that were seniors and everything like that, and it was a very big cultivation of people. Now it's more of a small group of us doing it, so I would say I'm just stepping out of my shell trying to be more of a vocal leader to the guys.”
- On Davison Igbinosun calling him “Coach Downs:” “Man, he be joking too much. I would say for me, it’s just a responsibility for anybody on defense. It’s our job to communicate and I can’t really hold back what I see on the field.”
- There’s a lot of intrigue for Downs in playing nickel. “Closer to the box, closer to the action. And then you get a lot more chances to be at the point of attack of the football.”
Jermaine Mathews Jr.
“I truly think so. I think we have a very deep room with a lot of guys that can go out there and compete. I think we’re a very competitive room as well.”– Jermaine Mathews Jr. on whether Ohio State’s cornerback room is the deepest it’s ever been
- Even though he is not a captain, Mathews said he wants to be one of the leaders in Ohio State’s locker room. “We had a lot of leaders leave last year. A lot of them. I think it was just really my responsibility to help lead the young cornerback group and really the secondary as a whole.”
- Mathews said he wants to perform to a certain standard this season. When asked to describe that standard in detail, he answered, “Being very elite at what I do on the field.”
- Mathews said he’s been rotating from cornerback and nickel, boundary and the field during the preseason. “I’m just getting a feel for everything. I like to kind of know everything that the defense has moving, so it helps me play better and helps me just get a feel for the game.”
- Mathews said he’s seen tremendous growth from Davison Igbinosun this offseason, particularly with Igbinosun’s efforts to limit pass interference penalties. Matthews said Igbinosun is “being more intentional about his technique and making sure he’s taking the right steps, placing his hands the right way.”
Lorenzo Styles Jr.
“He got my vote ... he's just really being more vocal and bringing energy.”– Lorenzo Styles Jr. on Caleb Downs earning captain honors for Ohio State
- Styles says OSU is approaching every practice as if it’s playing Texas and that the Buckeyes are excited about playing a premier opponent in the first week
- Styles said it was a “blessing” for his brother Sonny to earn Block O honors and that it was a reflection of what OSU’s coaching staff and his family has poured into him.
- Styles said he’s graduated from Ohio State already so he’s been able to pour the majority of his time into football.
Matt Guerrieri
“All offseason, we say, ‘What are the things Caleb does really well and what are the things we want to continue to improve on?’ And continue to highlight that. But it’s no secret to anybody, he’s a huge, huge piece of how we build.”– Matt Guerrieri on how Ohio State plans to deploy Caleb Downs
- On Lorenzo Styles Jr.’s growth and the nickel position as a whole: “Lorenzo’s had a great camp, done a really good job. We’ve had multiple groupings where we’ve rotated guys at different positions to be able to have depth across the board in the secondary, not just at that position. So I’m definitely pleased with the growth from that spot.”
- Guerrieri said Styles and fellow nickel Bryce West both have the versatility to play an expanded role like last year’s nickel, Jordan Hancock, did for the Buckeyes by dropping deep into coverages to free up Caleb Downs.
- On Leroy Roker III and Faheem Delane: “They’ve had a really good camp. Really good camp. They’re different skillsets of those two guys, they’ve competed at a really high level, they’ve taken a ton of reps. But I’m really pleased with the trajectory of both those guys.”
- On Matt Patricia’s ability to mold a defense around the talent at his disposal: “That (Billl Belichick coaching) tree is the gurus at finding out what people do well and putting them in a position to do that. Matt’s experience is incredible. When you’ve had that type of run that he had in the NFL, different hats that he’s worn, he sees the game through an incredibly unique lens.”
Tim Walton
“You don’t find too many college guys like him. He’s different… He has an elite mind. He understands the game at a high level. He can process things very fast. He’s next level when it comes to that stuff. He has an NFL mindset.”– Tim Walton on Caleb Downs
- Walton said Mathews has taken great strides this offseason as he prepares for a bigger role. “Well, he’s played a lot. He’s one of those guys that rotated in a lot last year. I always considered Jeremaine a starter because he’s been in — if you watched him in the playoffs, he played meaningful snaps. He has a lot of experience. He has great confidence. He carried himself as a starter for the past couple of years, so that’s how see him.”
- Walton said Igbinosun has worked really hard to limit penalties this season. “He’s been doing a great job. He’s getting his head around at the top of the route, making sure he’s not as handsy at the top. He’s worked on it. It’s been an emphasis, and he’s done a great job with it this offseason. He’s continued to grow in his leadership and studying.”
- Walton shared a message he’s reinforced with Igbinosun and all of Ohio State’s defensive backs this offseason: “Control what you can control.” He added: “You can try to do it the right way. You can make sure you’re clean.”
- Walton said Julian Sayin, whom Ryan Day named Ohio State’s QB1 on Monday, has helped Ohio State’s secondary prepare for the 2025 season by challenging them every practice. Walton said Sayin can “spin the ball” and “make all the throws.” He added: “He can throw the whole route tree.”
