“The Evolution of Ohio State’s Secondary: Denzel Burke’s Impact and the Promise of a Veteran Defense in 2024”

Denzel Burke’s journey began amid the Ohio State football team’s secondary, grappling with extreme inexperience. On the opening night of 2021, Burke found himself starting opposite redshirt freshman Ryan Watts at Minnesota. The combined 28 snaps between them in the previous year reflected the entirety of their experience, while starting safety Ronnie Hickman had just 47 snaps under his belt.

Over the following three seasons, the Buckeye secondary matured. The recent decisions by Burke and Jordan Hancock to return for the 2024 season, alongside safety Lathan Ransom’s earlier announcement, and cornerback Davison Igbinosun entering his third season, solidified the veteran status of the defensive backfield. The projected cornerbacks and two most experienced safeties collectively possess more game experience than any similar Ohio State opening-day quartet in the playoff era.

When Burke took the field against Minnesota in 2021, the quartet with similar experience had accumulated 564 career snaps. Fast forward to the upcoming season opener against Akron, and the quartet is set to showcase an impressive 5,516 career snaps — a nearly tenfold increase over four years.

Last season’s opening-day quartet also boasted over 5,000 career snaps, emphasizing the continuity that becomes a significant asset when players return despite their success. Ohio State is poised to field four NFL prospects on opening day, with promising second-year safety Malik Hartford likely joining the group. However, the recent announcements by Burke and Hancock arguably carry the most substantial impact.

Burke, emerging as the leader of the secondary in the previous season, assumed the role of a vocal leader, providing a consistent presence that reverberates throughout the defense. His self-appointed position as the chief accountability officer stands strong, backed by Burke’s consistent performance in 2022, and he now pursues upper first-round potential with confidence. By the end of the season, Hancock had become arguably the most invaluable member of the defense, and with a potential position switch for Sonny Styles, Hancock’s return mitigates concerns at nickel and opens up possibilities for his flourishing.

The projected Ohio State secondary for the upcoming season is shaping up to be the best since the 2019 lineup that featured first-round cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette Jr., along with NFL safeties Shaun Wade and Jordan Fuller. The 2019 group started the season with nearly 4,400 career snaps, and a year later, the snap total of the opening day quartet was just a third of that. By 2021, it had again shrunk by two-thirds.

The inexperience evident in the 2019 season had on-field repercussions, but the opposite was observed last season. With the seasoned secondary, the upcoming season holds the promise of an even more impressive defensive performance.