COLUMBUS, Ohio – Kye Stokes was the young Buckeye who stole the show during Ohio State’s spring game. But the true freshman safety had a strong combatant for the most impressive among the first- and second-year defensive backs on Saturday.
Similar to Stokes, sophomore cornerback Jordan Hancock had been getting lauded throughout spring ball. But the effusive praise truly began during winter workouts, where his cornerback teammates saw both him and JK Johnson make significant strides.
Newcomer Tanner McCalister noticed Hancock’s presence upon arriving in Columbus from Stillwater. Both Cameron Brown and Denzel Burke referenced Hancock and Johnson’s aggressiveness and competitive streak that combined well with their technical traits: ability to cover, willingness to tackle and a physical presence at the line of scrimmage, which has improved from their experiences facing Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson last season, plus Jaxon Smith-Njigba and the rest of that loaded room this spring.
Hancock and Johnson took their place as the third and fourth cornerbacks on the roster behind Burke and Brown Saturday, but continued to show the depth that the room could bring.
It was Hancock who showcased the most noteworthy plays, ending his strong spring season on a high note as he continues to look like he is the first cornerback in line behind Burke and Brown.
In descending order, here were Hancock’s three-best plays of the day:
– Two-minute drill, 2nd-and-3: Hancock sits in zone coverage, backpedaling as C.J. Stroud rears back his hand to fire a pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. Hancock shows his short-area quickness, exploding through Harrison’s radius to break up a pass.
– Two-minute drill, 3rd-and-3: Hancock follows up that impressive play with an even bigger one on the next snap. He was lined up over Harrison in a man coverage look, but he lets Harrison run past him, dropping into flat zone coverage. Hancock flashes the play recognition he has been praised for, knowing that running back Miyan Williams is heading to his zone as a check-down option. He sprints over to Williams while the ball is in the air, making contact moments after the catch. Against the Buckeyes’ most physical runner, a 5-foot-10, 225-pound bulldozer, Hancock knows he can’t go high. He heads straight for Williams’ legs, wrapping them up, holding on and pulling him down for a four-yard loss.
– First series of third quarter, 3rd-and-6: The sophomore corner is on an island in man coverage against Jayden Ballard. Ballard releases on a go route outside the numbers, and Hancock stays about a yard off of Ballard, sticking close while reading his route. As Ballard heads upfield, Hancock glues himself to the receiver with his left hand, running every step of the way in a battle. Hancock utilizes his size (6-foot-1, 188 pounds) and vertical to shield the ball from Ballard (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) and break up a potential 30-plus-yard play.
All three plays were exemplary of how Hancock has evolved his game. But the last was the most impressive, showcasing the height, length, physicality and speed that has thrust him squarely into the cornerback rotation. Ballard was a leading candidate going into the spring game to break out with a special day. Ballard got his shot for that explosive play, but the opportunity went by the wayside because of Hancock.
He showed the tools that make him a great fit for an outside cornerback in a Jim Knowles defense – one that wants to be physical and aggressive in press-man coverage against receivers and trust that they will have the coverage skills to shut down passes at the top of routes.
“We’re continuing to work on playing close to people, throwing punches, being aggressive with our coverage,” Knowles said. “That may be a little bit of a change for them. We’re also going against the best receiver corps in the country. That’s going to continue to be a reason for them to get better. We’re going to continue coaching aggressive coverage.”
That’s a vastly different approach than what Ohio State’s cornerbacks were asked to do for the past two seasons.
That successful combative, in-your-face style from the corners is something Ryan Day noticed Saturday, twice using the word “aggressive” to define how the defensive backs have played.
The head coach said after the game that he was impressed with “all the young cornerbacks and safeties” throughout the spring. He said they did a good job over the past six weeks of getting hands on passes, playing confidently, and that “the talent level is showing.”
An infusion of juice, energy and aggressiveness from the young defensive players – especially in the Buckeyes’ 2021 and 2022 signing classes – is one core reason for optimism that a defensive turnaround could happen in one year rather than two.
Hancock showcased that to close out the spring, giving himself momentum into the summer and eventually fall camp.
