Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah’s life changed Thursday night when he went No. 3 overall in the 2020 NFL Draft. Scouts and analysts and other NFL types were in pretty solid agreement that the long, rangy, and athletic corner was the best defensive back available this year.
But that’s not the only group that will echo those thoughts. How about those that played against him?
The Detroit Free Press reached out to some receivers that went one-on-one with the 6-foot, 1-inch DB to get their thoughts on what he brings to the table. It’s no surprise, but the comments were pretty flattering — especially coming from an opponent and rival.
“Most definitely Jeff Okudah,” Penn State’s K.J. Hamler said, echoing everything his fellow Big Ten receivers like Donovan Peoples-Jones and Quintez Cephus had to say.
“Just doing a lot of studying on him, he’s a long guy, fast, very patient with his feet, technician guy, has good speed,” Hamler said at the NFL combine. “Just studying him all that week vs Ohio State was pretty good. You learned a lot of stuff about him.”
Hamler was bottled up pretty well against Okudah, even though there was a cat and mouse game to try and get him away from the matchup.
“We knew those guys would follow me in the slot,” Hamler said. “I wanted them to put me outside, they didn’t put me outside. I was fine with that. We lost the game as you know, but I think Jeff Okudah is the best opponent I went against.”
NFL draft experts also agree.
“He to me is what Stephon Gilmore was coming out, what Patrick Peterson was coming out,” ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. said last month. “He’s going to be expected to be one of the best cornerbacks in this league. And he has that skill set, he has the mindset for it. He’s a very aggressive player. Good tackler. I think he’s not too handsy in coverage, even though he is aggressive, which I like that because you don’t want to see penalties with that. You can’t get away with those things in the NFL you get away with in college.”
Now all the praise must become reality. Okudah will get a chance to put his product on the field at the next level. There’s probably not too many in the camp voting against him having nothing but success.