Cameron Brown’s injury forces Ohio State to turn to its inexperienced depth at corner. Time for some accelerated development in Columbus.
Early in the fourth quarter against Penn State, one of Ohio State’s rotating corners, Cameron Brown, was carted off with a non-contact injury. The worst fears have been confirmed by Lettermen Row. Brown is now out for the season with an Achilles injury and the Buckeyes must find someone to replace him. Luckily, they have two players that can step in and provide some help. With Shaun Wade, Sevyn Banks, and Marcus Williamson already inked as the starting corners, and with Brown out, the depth has taken a hit.
An intriguing option to grab playing time is a third-year sophomore Tyreke Johnson. Johnson has the height to play outside but has played even less than Williamson. In fact, he received no playing time against Penn State. He now figures to get some time to rotate in and out against bigger receivers and will most likely be next in line should anything happen to Wade, Banks, or Williamson.
The coaching staff talked up Johnson all offseason and seem to think he is ready to make a leap. Getting him some playing time will help when Wade moves to the NFL next season. The good news here is that — though inexperienced — the Buckeyes do have some depth behind Johnson.
As far as that goes, former high school quarterback Cameron Martinez and safety/corner recruit Lejond Cavazos may also figure in. Both are expected to be answers for the future of the program, but they may be needed for depth now. Former Oklahoma commit Ryan Watts could also factor in should duty call. Still though, for a position group that was already green, having to go deeper into that well isn’t the most ideal situation.
There’s no way around it. Brown going down hurts, but there’s still talent in the program, it might just need some accelerated development to add depth to an already thin and inexperienced position group.
