Opening night of the NFL highlights Ohio State as DBU

Fifty-four former Buckeyes take the field this weekend in the NFL and twenty-four percent are defensive backs, making Ohio State DBU or BIA.

Ask college football fans from around the nation who DBU (Defensive Back University) is and you will hear a mix of answers. Usually, Ohio State is one of the most prominent in the conversation. We won’t bring up those other schools, but there is a fight among the faithful who is DBU. But remember, OSU likes to tout itself as BIA (Best in America) to distinguish itself.

To each his own.

As the season for the NFL kicks off, one of the Buckeyes’ former corners takes the field against the Kansas City Chiefs. Bradley Roby was drafted by the Broncos, however, now plays for Houston. This season there are eleven defensive backs active for week one from Ohio State and two others on injured reserve for the next three weeks.

As a whole, the Buckeyes have 54 players on the NFL roster to start this season. Twenty-five percent of the Ohio State players on a roster (including the injured players) are defensive backs. Not bad for a school dubbed to be the real DBU by ESPN.

Two defensive back rookies figure to play large roles for their teams this season as well. Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette will suit up week one for the Lions and Raiders, respectively. There are a total of seven OSU rookies expected to play this weekend with another six on rosters in some fashion.

While all eyes will be on Chase Young this season, the Buckeyes will have plenty of players playing and many are defensive backs. When someone asks you who DBU is, the only correct answer is THE Ohio State Buckeyes, and opening weekend only strengthens that claim. Okay, we’ll let you get away with BIA, but still, you get the point.

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