Scarlet Sunrise: Ohio State CB Jeffrey Okudah looks poised for huge season

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Jeffrey Okudah’s time to shine

Jeffrey Okudah arrived at Ohio State as a 5-star talent with seemingly limitless potential. With the road to the field now less crowded, 2019 sure seems like it’s going to be the year the Buckeyes get to experience the fruits of Okudah’s talent and hard work.

On Tuesday, NFL draft analyst Matt Miller identified Okudah as his top cornerback prospect for the 2020 draft class. One day later, Dane Brugler of The Athletic did the same:

The two most important traits when scouting the cornerback position are athletic ability and mental processing. And despite not being a full-time starter in his first two seasons in Columbus, Okudah has shown flashes of being special in both areas. His diagnose skills, reaction quickness and sudden burst allow him to close with explosive speed and break up passes.

In a lot of ways, Okudah is following the path of his former teammate, Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward. They both played on special teams as freshmen before they were worked into the cornerback rotation as sophomores. Ward wasn’t a full-time starter until his junior season, which he was able to parlay into a top-five pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, earning a Pro Bowl nod as a rookie.

Okudah enters his junior year with only one career start and no career interceptions, but the traits are special and his read/react confidence improved with added snaps late last season. If he plays up to his potential in 2019, Okudah has the talent to vault into the top-10 overall discussion.

High praise for sure, but Okudah seems up to the task of fulfilling it.

Blue Smith gets immediate eligibility

Former Ohio State wide receiver L’Christian “Blue” Smith will be immediately eligible at Cincinnati after transferring. On Wednesday, the NCAA granted Smith an immediate eligibility waiver that will allow him to play in 2019.

Smith redshirted in 2018, his only season in Columbus, and will have four years of eligibility with the Bearcats.

Jack Sawyer knows his top Ohio State targets

The country’s top-ranked 2021 prospect usually hits his target.

Jack Sawyer, the young commitment from Pickerington North High School, is among the country’s most dominant football prospects, a preseason All-American and a player being counted on by his future coaches to help recruit the best-of-the-best from around the nation to join him at Ohio State. Sawyer, 6-foot-5 and 235-pounds, has his targets. They’ve been given to him by the people behind the scenes in Columbus.

“Reid Carrico,” Sawyer told Lettermen Row on Monday. “I think he’s the best linebacker in the country, and I want to play with him.”

Sawyer believes the battle for Carrico comes down to Ohio State or Clemson. Beyond the state of Ohio’s top-ranked linebacker prospect, he has his eye on a pair of big fish: Landon Tengwall and Damon Payne.

“The lineman, I think he’s from Maryland,” Sawyer said. “Tengwall. I know Kyle McCord is working on him, too. But we’d really like to get him here for a visit. Then there’s that Payne guy from [Michigan], he’s a really good player that I’d like to have with me on the defensive line.”

Sawyer has decided against doing the big national camp circuit. That is because he’d rather spend his offseason working with Larry Johnson. But it will be interesting to see if the Ohio State coaching staff pushes him to get involved in those events because of the potential recruiting benefit that comes from putting Sawyer around his peers. Sometimes recruiting face-to-face is a much more natural method than working on other players over social media and via text message.

For more on Ohio State recruiting, check out the Wednesday edition of Dotting the Eyes.

Birminology with Jack Sawyer

Ohio State class of 2021 commitment Jack Sawyer is now the top-ranked player in the country according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. With that bump comes pressure that Sawyer believes he’s ready to handle.

How will those expectations change his approach to his junior season? Why won’t Sawyer make the camp rounds in the future and what does he believe he has to do in order to win Mr. Football in Ohio? Get the answers to those questions and more in this week’s edition of Birminology on Lettermen Row.

Counting down

• Ohio State vs. Florida Atlantic (season opener): 23 days
• Ohio State at Michigan: 114 days

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