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CB Denzel 'Hurt! My! Feelings!' Ward (All B1G, All-American, Pro Bowl, Cleveland Browns)

DENZEL WARD PRIMED FOR JUMP AS OHIO STATE'S NO. 1 AND TOP NFL DRAFT PROSPECT AT CORNERBACK

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“Thank you for saying that,” Kerry Coombs said. Well, shouted.

“I really appreciate it, because that is what he is,” Ohio State's cornerbacks coach continued as his discussion with a pool of reporters began. The "he" Coombs referred to is Denzel Ward, Ohio State's incumbent starter at the position even though he did not trot out for the first snap in any game during last season. The reporter told Coombs he "had one returning starter at corner," much to the coach's delight.

“I would prefer it if you guys referred to him as the third starter at corner because that’s what he was. We had a true three-man rotation,” Coombs said this. “There was never a series where he didn’t go and then somebody came out.”

Ohio State listed Ward as a co-starter on its depth chart alongside Marshon Lattimore at one cornerback spot for the entire season. The New Orleans Saints took Lattimore 11th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft two months ago, the final peg in a rapid rise for the Cleveland product.

Lattimore's story is rare. Conley's isn't, a three-year contributor for the Buckeyes who put in his time and eventually also became a first-round pick. Conley steadily rose up the ranks of Ohio State's cornerbacks room, stepping in as its leader after Eli Apple left following the 2015 season. Apple became No. 1 following Doran Grant's graduation. Grant did the same once Bradley Roby turned pro.

Sense a pattern? Ward is next.

“I’m telling you he as good as the other two,” Coombs said of Ward this spring, referencing Lattimore and Conley. “He doesn’t have to say it. I’m telling you that. I think he believes it, he just doesn’t have to say it.”

Entire article: http://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio-...no-1-and-top-nfl-draft-prospect-at-cornerback
 
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