The training wheels were snapped off with a vengeance for Devin Sanchez against Illinois.
With starting nickel Lorenzo Styles Jr. out vs. the Illini due to injury, the Buckeyes bumped regular outside cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. to the inside while Sanchez made his first career start in Mathews’ place. Against the No. 10 passing offense in yards per attempt in college football, no less.
There were some bumps along the way. But it was a great first experience for the five-star freshman out of Texas.
“Devin graded out well,” Ryan Day said on Tuesday. “Certainly it wasn't perfect, there was things he could do better. But for a young player to play with that type of confidence in that environment was a great sign. Early on, made a nice play on a PBU and then continued to compete the entire game. So we do need to continue to build depth.”
Sanchez picked up five tackles with a pass breakup against Illinois, though his coverage numbers showed room for growth. Targeted six times by a Fighting Illini offense that was clearly set on targeting the first-year player, Sanchez allowed four receptions for 55 yards, or 9.2 yards per target, per Pro Football Focus. Only 12 offenses in the FBS average at least 9.2 yards per pass attempt, for reference. He also committed a pass interference penalty that set Illinois up with 1st-and-goal at the Ohio State 2-yard line.
Then again, he wasn’t at fault for all the completions marked against him. On Illinois’ scoring drive before halftime, Sanchez was tasked with covering a deep third of the field in a Cover 3 look, while linebacker Sonny Styles blitzed underneath him. Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer recognized the vacated hole in the zone and connected with receiver Hudson Clement on a slant route as Sanchez stepped up to make the tackle.
The pass interference was Sanchez’s biggest mistake. He grabbed hold of the jersey of Illinois wide receiver Justin Bowick and didn’t get his head around to play the ball. Originally ruled a catch, it was overturned after replay review and the defense held for a field goal from there, but it was still a penalty that placed the Illini in a prime position to score.
Despite those youthful hiccups, Sanchez stayed motivated and kept playing.
“They're coming, you got to buckle up,” Mathews said he told Sanchez. “They don't really care who you are or what year you're in. They're coming, so you got to be ready.”
“I felt like I seen the swag just keep on coming along snap after snap after snap,” strong safety Jaylen McClain said. “He had to get his feet wet a little bit, and I felt like he got his confidence throughout the game and, you know, it turned on for him. You’re gonna see that for the next couple of games, too.”
There were highs to be had. Sanchez’s first play of the game was a great one, running stride-for-stride with Illinois wideout Collin Dixon and breaking up a downfield shot.
Illinois immediately tried to attack Devin Sanchez on the first play of the Illinis opening drive, as the freshman is making his first career start.
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) October 11, 2025
The five-star cornerback forced an incompletion. pic.twitter.com/vlmrVE9nmt
With Ohio State winning comfortably against a top-20 team on the road, it’s hard to label any of these experiences as “bad” for Sanchez. Whether he made the plays he wanted or didn’t, the freshman got to work through some of the growing pains of his first major role in a major game.
“The only way to grow is to go through experiences like that,” Day said. “He's right there. So the coverage is good, and he's only going to get better with his experience, and you have to play through that.”
Sanchez earned his opportunity against Illinois through the other rigors of the regular season; it wasn’t by chance that he saw the field over sophomore Aaron Scott Jr., among others. Sanchez played 86 combined snaps in Ohio State’s first five games, largely out of dime packages when the Buckeyes wanted a sixth defensive back on the field.
On the practice field, he’s impressed some of the team’s star wide receivers.
“He’s shown it in practice,” Carnell Tate said. “And with the young guys, it’s about consistency. And he’s shown that he’s able to be out there and be consistent, and then if it happens that a play is made on him, he’s shown that he’s capable of bouncing back and go out there and play high-level football.”
Sanchez’s confidence is growing. His teammates’ confidence in him is growing. Even as Lorenzo Styles Jr. is expected to return at nickel this week and return Sanchez to his supporting role, the experience Sanchez collected in Champaign could be invaluable down the stretch of the season.
“I think it was good,” starting cornerback Davison Igbinosun said. “He’s a true freshman. People don't understand how hard it is to start as a true freshman in college football. He's just going to learn from it and grow.”
