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CB Jeff Okudah (1st Team Unanimous All-American, Houston Texans)

JEFFREY OKUDAH EXCITED TO FINALLY BE HEALTHY IN 2018

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Ohio State has a reputation of pumping out premier defensive backs into the NFL, and Jeffrey Okudah came to Columbus last season looking like he could be the next great young Buckeye.

As a freshman, Okudah earned a significant amount of playing time, playing in all 14 games and collecting 17 tackles as he was Ohio State's fourth cornerback in a room that rotated on nearly every possession.

Now a sophomore, Okudah is competing for a starting job with veterans Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield. He is confident in his ability to earn more playing time, especially since he should be close to if not 100 percent healthy come September. The Texas native played through a labrum injury not only during his rookie year at OSU, but also his final two years of high school.

"This is my first time ever having a major injury," Okudah, who underwent surgery in the offseason, said. "But at the same time, I played with this injury senior year of high school, junior year of high school, freshman year at Ohio State so I’m kind of interested to see if there will be a change in performance now that I’m getting back to being fully healthy.

"I think it’ll definitely give (me) a lot of confidence," he added. "You can kind of go out there and play, knowing that your body feels good, and like I said, I’m really interested to see how everything will pan out, now that I’m getting back to being fully healthy."

With Denzel Ward sitting out the Cotton Bowl, Okudah saw his most extended playing time against USC and collected a season-high four tackles against the Trojans in a 24-7 victory.

Now that Ward is gone and preparing for the NFL draft, Okudah figures to be one of Ohio State's top corners, as soon as he returns from shoulder surgery.

"We're excited and ready for Jeff to come back," cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson said Wednesday. "I am excited watching (film) on him from last year and things that he did. He is such a smart young man. He is tough, a guy who has some game experience and he is long and can do a lot of good things."

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...-okudah-excited-to-finally-be-healthy-in-2018

Football: High expectations remain for Jeffrey Okudah in 2018 after offseason surgery

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Talent and youth so regularly walk through the doors of the Ohio State football team facilities that it’s a common occurrence for second-year players to jump older players who might have been former four- or five-star recruits themselves.

But there’s one position that requires youth to be ready: cornerback. And the freshman who benefited from that in 2017 was Jeffrey Okudah, who could be counted on for a larger role in the defensive backfield as a sophomore, even following offseason shoulder surgery.

Okudah was one of the lone bright spots on the kickoff team last season and showed promise in his limited playing time at corner, including his only start — against USC in the Cotton Bowl. The early departures of Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley after the 2016 season allowed Okudah a chance to seize that fourth spot as a freshman in the fall. Now with Denzel Ward departing early, Okudah has a chance to jump into more of a primary role.

This is just the nature of being a cornerback at Ohio State: expected to be ready Day One, expected to start Year Two.

Redshirt junior Damon Arnette and redshirt junior Kendall Sheffield figure to be the cornerbacks who will earn the most playing time in 2018 in what has typically been a three-man rotation. The third player will likely be Okudah, with the possibility of being the second starting cornerback if Arnette moves back to his more comfortable position of nickelback.

However, Okudah’s ability to compete for that spot took a hit. In his first media appearance since the Cotton Bowl, Okudah confirmed he had shoulder surgery in January. Surprisingly, he also said it was to repair a torn labrum that had been a lingering injury since his senior year of high school, meaning he played with the issue during the 2017 season.

“I think it’ll definitely give me a lot of confidence knowing that your body feels good,” Okudah said. “I’m really interested to see how it’ll pan out now that I’m getting back to being fully healthy.”

Entire article: https://www.thelantern.com/2018/04/...ffrey-okudah-in-2018-after-offseason-surgery/
 
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FIVE FORMER FIVE-STAR RECRUITS SET FOR FIRST MEANINGFUL PLAYING TIME THIS SEASON

JEFFREY OKUDAH – 2017 CLASS – CB

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Chase Young may have been the top-rated player in Ohio State's 2017 class, but it was by a razor thin margin as five-star cornerback Jeffrey Okudah was right there with him. Young was the No. 7 player in the country with a rating of .9957 while Okudah was No. 8 with a rating of .9955.

In any case, Okudah was the top cornerback prospect in the country and with Denzel Ward bolting to the NFL, he'll be an integral part of Ohio State's cornerback rotation, joining Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield.

Okudah was the fourth cornerback all season in 2017 and was the player who got the most extra reps when Ward elected not to play in the Buckeyes' Cotton Bowl matchup with USC. There are a lot of talented cornerbacks on the roster – five-star Shaun Wade and four-stars Marcus Williamson and Amir Riep – but Okudah will likely get the first crack at meaningful playing time.

Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...for-first-meaningful-playing-time-this-season
 
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His great INT that didn't count and the subsequent big pass play where he forgot to look are the only times I remember seeing so far. I guess that's a good thing for a CB, but I wasn't sure if anyone else has noticed him during games. Thought he'd be a breakout player this year.
 
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His great INT that didn't count and the subsequent big pass play where he forgot to look are the only times I remember seeing so far. I guess that's a good thing for a CB, but I wasn't sure if anyone else has noticed him during games. Thought he'd be a breakout player this year.
Aren’t we only 4 games in? Calm down, what were you expecting an INT in every single game? He’s in his first real rotation PT, and working kinks out. We go through this every year with a new CB in the 3 man rotation, their first year is up and down, and by seasons end the light turns on. Ward, Conley and Apple were inconsistent in their first years playing big minutes too.
 
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His great INT that didn't count and the subsequent big pass play where he forgot to look are the only times I remember seeing so far. I guess that's a good thing for a CB, but I wasn't sure if anyone else has noticed him during games. Thought he'd be a breakout player this year.
As you started to admit later in the post, do you really want to notice a cb? Noticing a cb why people are critical of Arnette (who btw isn't nearly as bad as people think, he's just not great, which recently means a star)

They're coached to play the man and their eyes and not look must of the time . Denzel is still doing this in the league as a pretty good rookie.
Aren’t we only 4 games in? Calm down, what were you expecting an INT in every single game? He’s in his first real rotation PT, and working kinks out. We go through this every year with a new CB in the 3 man rotation, their first year is up and down, and by seasons end the light turns on. Ward, Conley and Apple were inconsistent in their first years playing big minutes too.
Agreed. Conley was awful early on. They had to drag back a hobbled Apple because of this

Ward was getting abused by Indiana and that wasn't even his first year of PT, it was his 2nd or 3rd depending on your metric.

Sheffield wasn't exactly perfect last year either. Big change this year.

Frankly, I'd argue that Okudah and Wade have been ahead of the curve compared to most of the recent debuts by OSU cbs.


Also, OSU has had an unreal run with corners. The bar is not "is he yet another top corner in the draft?"
 
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As you started to admit later in the post, do you really want to notice a cb? Noticing a cb why people are critical of Arnette (who btw isn't nearly as bad as people think, he's just not great, which recently means a star)

They're coached to play the man and their eyes and not look must of the time . Denzel is still doing this in the league as a pretty good rookie.

Agreed. Conley was awful early on. They had to drag back a hobbled Apple because of this

Ward was getting abused by Indiana and that wasn't even his first year of PT, it was his 2nd or 3rd depending on your metric.

Sheffield wasn't exactly perfect last year either. Big change this year.

Frankly, I'd argue that Okudah and Wade have been ahead of the curve compared to most of the recent debuts by OSU cbs.


Also, OSU has had an unreal run with corners. The bar is not "is he yet another top corner in the draft?"
Agree with everything except your last sentence, that is the bar that we measure by.
 
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Agree with everything except your last sentence, that is the bar that we measure by.
That is what they strive for and we hope for. It is absolutely not an acceptable bar for a brand new starter, considering that almost all (if not all) of those stud DBs not only fell short, but had much more visible struggles than JO has had.
 
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That is what they strive for and we hope for. It is absolutely not an acceptable bar for a brand new starter, considering that almost all (if not all) of those stud DBs not only fell short, but had much more visible struggles than JO has had.
I remember Lattimore getting torched by a TE, if I recall correctly, in a game against a cupcake.

He turned out okay.
 
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I remember Lattimore getting torched by a TE, if I recall correctly, in a game against a cupcake.

He turned out okay.
I'd sh
I remember Lattimore getting torched by a TE, if I recall correctly, in a game against a cupcake.

He turned out okay.
going by memory, I think he was one of the better ones in terms of growing pains.

I hope we don't notice okudah again this year. He nearly had two picks last game though, so I'll allow that :)
 
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That is what they strive for and we hope for. It is absolutely not an acceptable bar for a brand new starter, considering that almost all (if not all) of those stud DBs not only fell short, but had much more visible struggles than JO has had.
Sure. And yet that’s our measuring stick. And frankly, it we wish to win a title this year against someone like Bama, they are likely going to need to ball like that at year’s end.
 
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Dang, I guess I came off as a bit panicky. I've just been surprised that I've seen/heard about literally every other defensive player other than him and it was just surprising. Completely agree that every corner needs some time to get their feet wet in the starting role.

I don't think you did, but the posts above are well taken. Corners take a little bit to settle in, no matter how talented they are. As to Okudah, I have definitely noticed him. He is 6'1 and somehow sticking to every receiver like glue, he has 1st round written all over him. He has had some difficulty in adjusting while the ball is in air and getting turned around, but it definitely is not an ability issue. Okudah gets his hips flipped remarkably well for his size. It is 100% going to be an in-game adjustment with him that comes with experience imo. Having played corner in my day (I'm 30 but yes, I'm calling it "my day"), getting turned around when you are stride for stride with a receiver is an incredibly difficult thing to do. If you get turned around too early, you lose your guy. If you get turned around too late, they might snag it despite excellent coverage, which is what is happening to Jeff. I was always taught that the most important thing in man coverage is the coverage itself and once the WR starts looking, come up through his hands. Often the receiver will not start looking until the last second (usually on purpose, see the back shoulder throws that have torched us), so sometimes they are just going to make the contested catch.

Anyways, I think Okudah is the most talented CB we have and overall, I think he has done a really great job. He'll continue to improve, the talent is clearly there.
 
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