JEFFREY OKUDAH'S ATTITUDE, INTELLIGENCE AND LENGTH MAKE HIM STRONG CANDIDATE TO PLAY EARLY IN OHIO STATE'S SECONDARY
Richard Sherman. Aqib Talib.
Those are two names Jeffrey Okudah casually dropped in conversation during his first press availability with the local Columbus media. He isn't shy about projecting himself at the next level in the same realm as those players, even though he has yet to play a down of college football.
“I know big corners have a lot of success. Just looking at the NFL: Richard Sherman, Aqib Talib. Those are some big corners,” Okudah said on National Signing Day. “And they're also regarded as the best corners in the NFL. I really don't think my height even matters.”
Like Talib, the Denver Broncos cornerback, Okudah is listed at 6-foot-1. Sherman plays for the Seattle Seahawks and is 6-foot-3. Any more, professional franchises want long, fast and strong cornerbacks to body up against powerful wide receivers one-on-one on the outside.
In recent years under Kerry Coombs's tutelage, Ohio State has become a factory for high draft picks at the position. Bradley Roby went 31st overall for the Broncos in 2014. Pittsburgh selected Doran Grant the following year in the fourth round. The New York Giants made Eli Apple the No. 10 pick last year. Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley — two more long and incredibly fast corners — are projected to come off the board in the first 50 picks of the 2017 NFL Draft in April.
“I think it just goes to show that Coach Coombs knows what he's doing with the cornerbacks,” Okudah said.
Is Okudah next? His mindset surely is in the right place. The highest-rated player in Ohio State's vaunted 2017 recruiting class, the Texan enrolled early to get a jump on helping the Buckeyes fill the void of losing three starters in the secondary early to the NFL. Shaun Wade, Isaiah Pryor and Marcus Williamson are also already in Columbus.
But Okudah's fundamentals, technique, fluidity and everything in between set him apart.
“[I'm] trying to get here seven days a week. Just trying to work,” Okudah said. “I know that I don't have too much to do here, don't know too many people around here yet. So I just come here, get as much extra work in as I can with Coach Coombs.”
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