Gene Ross
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Jermaine Mathews Jr. may be the most important ‘non-starter’ on Ohio State’s depth chart in 2024
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The sophomore corner is going to see the field a ton this season, even if he isn’t technically a starter.
Ohio State’s defense should be one of the best units in the entire country in 2024. The secondary, especially, is absolutely loaded, with a former freshman All-American in Caleb Downs joining an already established group of Lathan Ransom and Jordan Hancock at safety as well as Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun at the two cornerback spots. However, those five guys alone are not going to be able to get the job done by themselves over the course of a potentially 17-game college football season.
Enter: Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Mathews came to Ohio State as the No. 6 CB and No. 51 overall prospect nationally, per the 247Sports Composite in the 2023 class, as well as the top player in Ohio for the cycle. The 6-foot defensive back out of Cincinnati garnered a whopping 45 offers during the recruiting process, but ultimately chose to stay close to home and suit up for the Buckeyes under the tutelage of position coach Tim Walton.
Despite a number of guys being ahead of him on the pecking order when he first arrived on campus, Mathews made a significant contribution as a freshman.
In the Buckeyes’ third game of the season against Western Kentucky, Mathews entered the game in a 56-10 blowout in the fourth quarter. He would quickly make it 63-10 with a 58-yard pick-six, jumping the out route along the sideline and taking it all the way to the house to put a capper on the Ohio State victory. It would end up being Mathews’ lone interception on the season, as also finished the year with 13 tackles and three pass breakups.
In addition to the counting stats, Mathews became an even more important piece of the defense when Burke missed a few games with an injury. The freshman came off the bench to replace the star corner against Purdue, and even started in his place twice against Penn State and Rutgers. On the year, Mathews recorded 194 total snaps on defense — far less than the 769 and 579 snaps by Igbinosun and Burke, respectively, but far more than the next guy behind him (Jyaire Brown, 47).
Even with his limited reps, Mathews would finish the 2023 campaign as Ohio State’s second-highest graded defensive player per PFF at 86.0, trailing only Jack Sawyer (90.0). PFF credits Mathews with getting targeted 16 times while allowing only four catches for 34 yards and a garbage time touchdown. Filling in for a guy like Burke and being the third man in a rotation behind both he and Igbinosun is no easy task, but Mathews was up to challenge every time he was called upon.
Heading into 2024, Mathews will again be behind both Burke and Igbinosun on the depth chart, but expect his snap count to look a lot higher than it did last year as Walton will likely look to rotate his guys more and keep them fresh over the course of a longer season. In addition to his prowess as an outside corner, Mathews has emerged this offseason as a potential backup to Hancock in that slot safety role, further increasing his chances of seeing the field more often.
“Jermaine has already shown us that he can play in the big moments,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said last week. “He had to go as a starting corner against Penn State. And they went after him. So Jermaine has already shown that he can be a gamer, and that’s why he’s some nickel – we’re trying to find a home for him. [...] But I know Jermaine is gonna be there come game time.”
His position coach has also seen great things out of Mathews this offseason, and knows he is ready to breakout if given the chance.
“He’s taken a great step forward,” Walton said in March. “He’s the next guy up, man. He’s been extremely important in the growth of our secondary because now we’ve worked him inside some, he’s played outside at both corner spots. He’s got that ‘it’ factor, you know what I mean? So we look at what he brings, the energy, the competitiveness, we’ve gotta build off last year and expand the role for him.”
Ohio State doesn’t have a ton of depth behind Hancock at that nickel spot, with Lorenzo Stlyes Jr. set up as the likely No. 2 heading into this offseason. However, it does sound like Mathews will be a legitimate option in that important role on the Buckeyes’ defense. Coupling that with his clear spot behind Iggy and Burke at corner when either of those guys need a breather, and you are going to be seeing a lot of Jermaine Mathews Jr. all over the field in 2024.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
The sophomore corner is going to see the field a ton this season, even if he isn’t technically a starter.
Ohio State’s defense should be one of the best units in the entire country in 2024. The secondary, especially, is absolutely loaded, with a former freshman All-American in Caleb Downs joining an already established group of Lathan Ransom and Jordan Hancock at safety as well as Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun at the two cornerback spots. However, those five guys alone are not going to be able to get the job done by themselves over the course of a potentially 17-game college football season.
Enter: Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Mathews came to Ohio State as the No. 6 CB and No. 51 overall prospect nationally, per the 247Sports Composite in the 2023 class, as well as the top player in Ohio for the cycle. The 6-foot defensive back out of Cincinnati garnered a whopping 45 offers during the recruiting process, but ultimately chose to stay close to home and suit up for the Buckeyes under the tutelage of position coach Tim Walton.
Despite a number of guys being ahead of him on the pecking order when he first arrived on campus, Mathews made a significant contribution as a freshman.
In the Buckeyes’ third game of the season against Western Kentucky, Mathews entered the game in a 56-10 blowout in the fourth quarter. He would quickly make it 63-10 with a 58-yard pick-six, jumping the out route along the sideline and taking it all the way to the house to put a capper on the Ohio State victory. It would end up being Mathews’ lone interception on the season, as also finished the year with 13 tackles and three pass breakups.
In addition to the counting stats, Mathews became an even more important piece of the defense when Burke missed a few games with an injury. The freshman came off the bench to replace the star corner against Purdue, and even started in his place twice against Penn State and Rutgers. On the year, Mathews recorded 194 total snaps on defense — far less than the 769 and 579 snaps by Igbinosun and Burke, respectively, but far more than the next guy behind him (Jyaire Brown, 47).
Even with his limited reps, Mathews would finish the 2023 campaign as Ohio State’s second-highest graded defensive player per PFF at 86.0, trailing only Jack Sawyer (90.0). PFF credits Mathews with getting targeted 16 times while allowing only four catches for 34 yards and a garbage time touchdown. Filling in for a guy like Burke and being the third man in a rotation behind both he and Igbinosun is no easy task, but Mathews was up to challenge every time he was called upon.
Heading into 2024, Mathews will again be behind both Burke and Igbinosun on the depth chart, but expect his snap count to look a lot higher than it did last year as Walton will likely look to rotate his guys more and keep them fresh over the course of a longer season. In addition to his prowess as an outside corner, Mathews has emerged this offseason as a potential backup to Hancock in that slot safety role, further increasing his chances of seeing the field more often.
“Jermaine has already shown us that he can play in the big moments,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said last week. “He had to go as a starting corner against Penn State. And they went after him. So Jermaine has already shown that he can be a gamer, and that’s why he’s some nickel – we’re trying to find a home for him. [...] But I know Jermaine is gonna be there come game time.”
His position coach has also seen great things out of Mathews this offseason, and knows he is ready to breakout if given the chance.
“He’s taken a great step forward,” Walton said in March. “He’s the next guy up, man. He’s been extremely important in the growth of our secondary because now we’ve worked him inside some, he’s played outside at both corner spots. He’s got that ‘it’ factor, you know what I mean? So we look at what he brings, the energy, the competitiveness, we’ve gotta build off last year and expand the role for him.”
Ohio State doesn’t have a ton of depth behind Hancock at that nickel spot, with Lorenzo Stlyes Jr. set up as the likely No. 2 heading into this offseason. However, it does sound like Mathews will be a legitimate option in that important role on the Buckeyes’ defense. Coupling that with his clear spot behind Iggy and Burke at corner when either of those guys need a breather, and you are going to be seeing a lot of Jermaine Mathews Jr. all over the field in 2024.
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