Make-or-break opportunity arrives for Tyreke Johnson with Buckeyes

The speculation, debate and conversations about Ohio State never end, and Lettermen Row is always ready to dive into the discussions. All week long, senior writer Austin Ward will field topics about the Buckeyes submitted by readers and break down anything that’s on the minds of the Best Damn Fans in the Land. Have a question that needs to be tackled, like the one today about Ohio State and the situation at cornerback with Tyreke Johnson waiting for a chance? Send it in right here — and check back daily for the answers.

Tyreke Johnson –– his moment to step up?

— PSIrv (@keys_irv) November 3, 2020

Tyreke Johnson has been wanting an opportunity.

Ohio State now needs somebody to make the most of one.

And if this isn’t the moment when the redshirt sophomore cornerback emerges for the Buckeyes, it’s honestly hard to see when that might ever happen for Johnson. Perhaps that sounds extreme or unfair considering how many late-career success stories the program has produced. But this is generally the stage when Ohio State will know one way or the other where a player is heading — and there’s typically even more urgency in the secondary given how well the program recruits there.

This particular moment for the Buckeyes is something of an outlier with the depth stretched thanks to a couple transfers, the dismissal of two defensive backs earlier this year and the costly injury to Cameron Brown last week. Johnson, though, is supposed to be a prime example of the strength of the program since it has a former five-star recruit waiting in the wings — but now he has to validate that hype after struggling to do it so far.

Ohio State cornerback Tyreke Johnson has a chance to show what he can do. (Birm/Lettermen Row)

“Tyreke, what he does well is he plays very hard every day in practice,” Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said. “He studies the opponent, he prepares himself to play and he will do that this week. Obviously he’ll be prepared to go out there and play and hold up the standard of the unit.

“I think anytime you lose good players, it’s going to affect you. Other players are going to have to step up. You know, the whole Next Man Up thing is no joke — especially this year. I think we’ve been training our guys from June for the possibility of having to be able to play in a game suddenly. I think that’s really important to try to prepare them for that.”

The Buckeyes still have other options to fill the void left by Brown’s torn Achilles, starting with simply expanding the role of Marcus Williamson at cornerback. Ohio State could also cut down on the rotation and stick with Shaun Wade and Sevyn Banks for more snaps, though that’s not really an option that would likely appeal much to Coombs given his desire to keep defensive backs fresh throughout a game. Freshman cornerback Ryan Watts has flashed a bit already and could get a closer look against Rutgers, and once Lejond Cavazos is cleared from injury, he’ll also likely get a shot at some point.

But Johnson is a veteran of the program. He’s going to be at the top of the list of candidates to slide into the rotation, and this will undoubtedly be the best chance of his career to show that he belongs on the field.

Maybe Saturday night against Rutgers won’t break his chances of ever contributing. But it could go a long way toward turning Johnson into somebody Ohio State can count on if he makes the most of the opportunity.

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