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Denzel Burke will be available for Buckeyes in title game after missing second half of win over Texas

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•about 11 hours•

SpencerHolbrook

Denzel Burke
(© Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he expects Denzel Burke to be ready to go in the national title game against Notre Dame next Monday night.

Burke did not play in the second half of the Buckeyes’ semifinal win over Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Day said Burke was dealing with an ‘upper-extremity issue’ that held him out for the second half.

“He’ll be available for the next game,” Day said. “He’s 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.”

With Burke missing in the second half, Jermaine Mathews played 47 snaps at cornerback and performed well. That’s the career high for snaps from Mathews — and it came in the biggest game of his life so far.

Day was impressed with the way the second-year cornerback Mathews played for the Buckeyes in the win over Texas. Mathews logged a 64.9 overall ProFootball Focus grade from the win. Mathews was credited with giving up two catches for 7 yards on two targets.

“I think 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. “I say this all the time; you have an opportunity to earn trust in your coaches and your teammates every day, and 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. He’s a very competitive player. He loves the competition. He loves his teammates. He’s a gritty type of guy that loves being a Buckeye, loves his teammates, loves, again, to compete. When his number is called, he’ll be ready to make a play in this game, as well.”

Burke was targeted just one time, a 24-yard Texas reception on the final play Burke played, which came at the tail-end of the second quarter.

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