An injury to starting nickel back Lorenzo Styles Jr. prompted Ohio State to reshuffle its secondary in last week’s win at Illinois.
The Buckeyes moved Jermaine Mathews Jr. from outside cornerback to replace Styles inside.
It trigged some takeaways.
As Mathews lined up in the slot, he sparked two of the three turnovers the Buckeyes forced against the Illini.
His pass deflection in the first quarter led to an interception by linebacker Payton Pierce and strip sack later in the third quarter was recovered by defensive end Caden Curry. Both set up touchdown drives as Ohio State took advantage of the favorable field position.
The availability of Styles figures to determine how long Mathews might remain in the role, and his status for this week’s game at Wisconsin remains a bit hazy. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said only that they would evaluate how Styles feels in the days ahead.
But Mathews, a junior from Cincinnati who is in his first season as a full-time starter, could also see more snaps in the slot on his own merit, having flashed while playing closer to the ball.
“When you make plays like that, you certainly draw attention and give coaches different ideas to utilize you,” Day said. “Jermaine is very competitive, he’s a huge part of our defense, and we’ll keep trying to figure out ways, whether it’s situationally or even first and second downs, to utilize those strengths.”
Day likened Mathews’ versatility to that of others on their defense, including linebacker Arvell Reese and safety Caleb Downs, who are at times positioned along the line of scrimmage. Mathews showed his impact at Illinois both in pass coverage and while blitzing out of the slot.
“We give our defensive staff a little bit of time,” Day said, “and they’ll come up with all kinds of different ways to utilize that. That’s something we try to really encourage. The more job descriptions you can do, the better we’re going to be, so it’s great to see Jermaine show up in big ways.”
It was not Mathews’ debut in the slot, as he had rotated inside in situations earlier this year, but it was his most extensive experience. He played 44 snaps there at Illinois, according to Pro Football Focus, nearly as many as he saw in the first five games (50).
The development of freshman Devin Sanchez allowed the Buckeyes to reposition Mathews as he backfilled for him at cornerback opposite Davison Igbinosun.
Day praised Sanchez for his first start. While he gave up a handful of completions, he also broke up a pass and made five tackles.
“It wasn’t perfect,” Day said. “There were things he could do better, but for a young player to play with that type of confidence in that type of environment was a great sign.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What Jermaine Mathews Jr.’s breakout in the slot means for Ohio State football secondary
Reporting by Joey Kaufman, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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