Tag: Jordan Hancock

Ohio State named the top cornerback unit in college football headed into 2024 by On 3

Ohio State should be more than fine in the defensive backfield. #GoBucks

Ohio State football’s track record of developing cornerbacks of the past decade plus has been among the best in college football. 

However, it has taken a bit of a hit in recent years with no Buckeye corner being drafted in the first four rounds since Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette in 2020.  But the Buckeyes’ cornerback play took a massive leap last season, and with all three starters returning along with a lot of young talent in the room expectations are sky high for the unit.

This is backed up by On3’s college football columnist Jesse Simonton who ranked the Buckeyes as the best cornerback room in college football headed into the 2024 season in his article last week.

One of the biggest returnees for Ohio State in 2024 was Denzel Burke who will enter his fourth season as a starter. Burke is coming off the best season of his career where he was named first-team all Big Ten by the coaches.

This stat shows how far Ohio State football’s pass defense has progressed
Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Also playing boundary corner will be Davison Igbinosun, who returns for his second season with the Buckeyes.  The former Ole Miss transfer avoids mental lapses in coverage well, is a strong tackler, and plays with a high level of intensity.

Jordan Hancock who emerged as a starter for the Buckeyes’ defense last season is expected to start in the same role at slot cornerback. Hancock is reliable as a coverage defender, run defender, and blitzer.

Ohio State football regular season defensive player PFF grades
USA TODAY Sports

Also expected to play a role in the defense is Jermaine Mathews Jr., who played 192 defensive snaps in his true freshman season and showcased his potential in those reps as PFF’s highest graded freshman cornerback.

With Calvin Simpson-Hunt, Lorenzo Styles Jr., Aaron Scott Jr., Bryce West, and Miles Lockhart also on the roster, Ohio State has a lot of depth at the position and young talent that will look to develop for future seasons.

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Ohio State ranked first in cornerback rankings

Ohio State ranks high on this list! #GoBucks

Jesse Simonton of On3 releases his college football unit rankings throughout the off-season and a few Ohio State units have been mentioned throughout the series. On Thursday, he released his 2024 top ten cornerback unit rankings and the Buckeyes squad was top billing.

This ranking makes sense for many reasons and I think few college football fans would disagree with the placement of this unit here. Denzel Burke would have been a borderline first round selection had he declared after last season, Jordan Hancock would have also been drafted no later than the middle rounds, and Davison Igbinosun has been a dynamic physical presence since arriving to Columbus via the transfer portal from Ole Miss.

This unit was a big reason for the Buckeyes ranking first in pass defense last season and expectations are that the defense should be even better in 2024. It is also important to remember the immense depth Ohio State has at corner with Jermaine Mathews Jr. being named a Freshman All-American, true freshman, Aaron Scott Jr., enrolling with an intense amount of hype, and Calvin Simpson-Hunt also looking ready for primetime.

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Ohio State cornerback Jordan Hancock joins three Buckeyes announcing future plans Wednesday

Another good one back for the Buckeyes’ secondary. #GoBucks

It’s been a lot of news on the potential NFL declarations for the Ohio State football program on Wednesday. In fact, we’ve had a trio of announcements, all colored positively Scarlet and Gray.

Not only did starting left guard from last season Donovan Jackson announce his return to OSU, but so did cornerback Denzel Burke. To add to that, another member of the secondary also announced that he too will join his brothers and return to the banks of the Olentangy for one more season.

Cornerback, Jordan Hancock, announced his decision to put off the NFL and return to Columbus with what is turning out to be a whole host of Buckeyes looking to square up some unfinished business on Wednesday. He did it in perhaps the most subtle of ways — and in the third person mind you.

This is further great news for an OSU secondary that should be pretty special, and able to build upon what it did in 2023. Safety Lathan Ransom and the aforementioned Burke will join Hancock, Sonny Styles, Jermaine Matthews, and Malik Hartford among key contributors back for Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.

Hancock was the starting nickel safety last season and tallied 41 tackles and two sacks. He also snagged two interceptions, one of them a pick six. To say that it was a breakout campaign would be an understatement. He did enough to likely be drafted in April, but now he can build upon what he’s already shown.

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Watch Ohio State’s Jordan Hancock with a pick six and social media reactions

Social media reacts to Ohio State taking the lead against Rutgers. #GoBucks

Once again this season, it’s the [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] defense who is carrying the offense. Kyle McCord and the Buckeye offense is struggling to move the ball with any kind of consistency and so it’s up to the defense to hold the rope.

Rutgers has been methodical in moving the ball down the field with time-consuming drives. The Scarlet Knights were on their way to the end zone when Josh Proctor made a perfectly timed hit on the receiver to pop the pass in the air. [autotag]Jordan Hancock[/autotag] picked it and raced 93 yards for the touchdown.

Let’s take a look at some of the best reactions from social media as Ohio State is now back on top.

Ohio State’s Jordan Hancock returns pick 93 yards for touchdown

Ohio State’s defense came up with a huge play

Rutgers had the lead and was driving on Ohio State Saturday as the second half opened in Piscataway, N.J.

Disaster then struck. Gavin Wimsatt attempted a pop pass and the football was deflected.

It wound up in the arms of the Buckeyes’ Jordan Hancock and he returned it 93 yards for a touchdown.

Adding insult to the turnover, Wimsatt was flagged for a personal foul for a low block on the TD return.

After the PAT, the top-ranked Buckeyes in the CFP poll led, 14-9.

Which Ohio State football players earned their Buckeye leaves against Penn State?

Which Buckeyes earned their helmet decals against Penn State?

For 60 minutes on Saturday, Ohio State football was in a battle with visiting Penn State, and earned a gritty, hard fought 20-12 victory in front of a raucous home crowd.

With another win in the book, the Buckeyes seventh of the season, you will see plenty more Buckeye leaf decals on players helmets next week as they visit Wisconsin. (We’re getting to the point of the year where some players are almost full!)

Some of those players get them for team achievements, but these players highlighted below earned them for their individual play in our own personal grading scale. Check out who we thought played the best football for Ohio State on Saturday and deserves new helmet decals.

This stat shows how far Ohio State football’s pass defense has progressed

BIA is back in a big way #GoBucks

One of the biggest issues with last year’s [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag] defense, was the inability to defend deep passes, it often would result in big plays that would be demoralizing to the unit.

Fast forward to the 2023 season and the Buckeyes seemingly have taken a massive step forward in that regard. Actually, it’s been the whole defense, but this was one area that many saw as a glaring weakness.

With a year under his belt, defensive coordinator [autotag]Jim Knowles[/autotag] feels much more comfortable with his safety driven defense and as CFB Film Room points out, the Ohio State secondary has not allowed a single completion on a ball thrown over 20-yards this fall.

There are multiple factors as to why this is, beginning with improved safety play from [autotag]Lathan Ransom[/autotag] and [autotag]Josh Proctor[/autotag]. The back end has been great, while the corners have seen a resurgence as well. [autotag]Denzel Burke[/autotag] is playing like an All-American, and [autotag]Jordan Hancock[/autotag] and [autotag]Davison Igbinosun[/autotag] has been extremely solid in their play as well.

Don’t forget about crediting the defense line, as it has produced the most pressure in the Big Ten through the Notre Dame game (this stat could have changed during the Buckeyes bye). It’s been a team effort to limit big plays through the air and it’s safe to say that Ohio State has been very successful in doing so.

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Ohio State statistical leaders through three games

These guys in particular could be a problem Saturday.

I admit that I probably should leave something like this to the folks overs at Buckeyes Wire. Then again, that’s the whole idea behind the College Wire sites. Every site has something unique to offer, and Fighting Irish Wire is no exception. We encourage you to check out all sites to get your college sports fix, particularly at this time of year when college football is reigning supreme throughout the land.

Now that the shameless plugging is out of the way, let’s talk about why you really clicked on this link. You want to see which Ohio State players are most likely to give Notre Dame problems in one of the most anticipated college football games of the year. These are the players who are most likely to stop a resurgent start to the season for the Irish in its tracks. You probably will see a few of them in the NFL soon.

If you aren’t familiar with these Buckeyes yet, get yourself familiar with them right now:

Ohio State football issues availability report for Wisconsin game, notable names missing

Ohio State football issues availability report for Wisconsin game #GoBucks

The Ohio State football program has issued the availability report for the game against Wisconsin, and there are a few notable names that will not be taking part in game No. 4.

With the game under Toledo under its belt, Ohio State has a few guys that were bumped and bruised against the Rockets, but most of the names on the list just transitioned over from the previous week. The most notable name on this list is star wide receiver, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who is listed as unavailable for today.

All of the reports from this week were that we would see Jaxon Smith-Njigba back in action, but this either means that his injury is more serious than originally thought or they feel confident in not needing him for victory.

Game-Time Decision

N/A

Unavailable

 DE Omari Abor

WR Kam Babb

CB Cam Brown

CB Jordan Hancock

LB Mitchell Melton

LB Teradja Mitchell

DT Zach Prater

RB Evan Pryor

TE Joe Royer

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba

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Freshman defensive back Jordan Hancock loses his black stripe

Freshman cornerback Jordan Hancock joined a trio of Buckeyes that lost their black stripe on Friday.

The Ohio State Football Twitter account was lit up like a Christmas Tree with newcomers losing their black stripes. Donovan Jackson received the honor, as did two others on Friday after preseason practice.

One of those was freshman cornerback Jordan Hancock. At 6-foot, 1-inch, and 170-pounds, Hancock was originally committed to Clemson but flipped and signed with the Buckeyes as a part of the 2021 class. He was rated as the fifth-best cornerback and 73rd overall prospect in the class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings.

He is a part of just three summer, non-early enrollees to shed his black stripe, joining J.T. Tuimoloau and Jackson, meaning he must be making an impression during his short time on campus.

“Thank you for BIA, thank you to the coaching staff, thank you for everything,” Hancock said in a brief ceremony. “Go Bucks!”

It’s not entirely clear how Hancock will fit into this year’s plans, but the coaches were extremely high on him and excited to be able to flip his commitment from Clemson. He should factor into OSU’s plans in the secondary sooner rather than later.

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