Denzel Burke injury update: Jim Knowles updates availability for national championship game

Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke didn’t play in the second half of the Buckeyes’ 28-14 win over Texas on Friday. On Tuesday, OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles provided an update on Burke’s condition when asked if he’ll be available in the National Championship.

“As far as I know,” Knowles said. “And again, that’s above my pay grade but as far as I know, everything is good. [It’s a] minor thing that he’s working through.”

Before leaving the game against the Longhorns on Friday, Burke logged two tackles. Jermaine Matthews Jr. replaced Burke in the second half. Matthews recorded a career-high 47 snaps at cornerback.

Knowles’ comments on Tuesday echoed head coach Ryan Day‘s statement from Sunday.

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“He’ll be available for the for the next game,” Day said of Burke. “He was dealing with an upper extremity issue that we felt like at the time, was the right thing to do to hold him.

“Obviously, we listen to the doctors and we get the feedback from Denzel, and we felt like Jermaine was playing well at the time. So that was the decision that was made. But, Denzel will be ready to play in this game.”

While Matthews played well when given the chance, Ohio State will be happy to have Denzel Burke back on the field. The veteran DB boasts 45 tackles and two interceptions this season. Texas only threw toward Burke one time in the first half.

Nonetheless, if Burke re-aggravates his injury against the Fighting Irish, Ryan Day is confident in Matthews’ ability.

“Everybody feels comfortable putting Jermaine in the game based on the way that he’s played this year, the way that he’s practiced this year,” Day said. “You have an opportunity to earn trust in your coaches and your teammates every day.

“When you get to this point in January, this is from the whole off-season, all of preseason and during the season, and we’ve talked about how depth is going to be important in this moment, a ton throughout the season, and Jermaine has done a good job. I think everybody trusts the fact that when he goes in the game, he’s going to do his job, and that’s it. I felt like he played well. He graded out a champion.”

On Jan. 20, Ohio State will look to secure its first national title since 2014 as it squares off against Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN.