Happy Monday!

Here’s what’s on my mind heading into this week of Ohio State offseason football and men’s basketball.

Tim Walton coached Jalen Ramsey.

For Ohio State’s two early-enrollee cornerbacks Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner, that gives the Buckeyes’ new defensive backs and cornerbacks coach instant credibility.

Just being around the NFL corner, a three-time first-team All-Pro, a five-time Pro Bowler, someone who many consider to be one of the best cornerbacks in the league, who gave Walton his stamp of approval as one of the best defensive backs coaches he’s had in his life makes Both Ohio State freshmen think that some of the same magic is going to rub off on them.

In the short time Walton’s been in the program, his past with Ramsey, his past in the NFL is not something he hides. It’s actually something he uses to motivate members of his room. It’s something he uses as an example.

"He preached that he always pushed Jalen Ramsey no matter how big Jalen Ramsey, no matter how good Jalen Ramsey is, he always pushed him,” Turner said. “He never treated him like the No. 1 corner in the NFL. He always pushed him no matter what.”

Turner has been watching the NFL since he was a child, and when the starting lineups were introduced, especially the cornerbacks, which he picked up when he was eighth grade, there was one thing they all seemed to have in common.

“So it’s like watching corners, in the NFL, they always show what college they went to. So you see a corner like ‘The Ohio State University,’” Turner said. “It’s like he went to Ohio State, he went to Ohio State, he went to Ohio State, like it’s crazy.”

For Walton, his job is to provide the fundamentals and the techniques for a room full of cornerbacks that chose Ohio State because they thought they could be next in line behind Eli Apple, Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward, Jeff Okudah and all the other NFL cornerbacks who have made the jump from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to the first round of the NFL Draft.

That’s why Walton is there because he feels those things translate no matter the level. And that’s something that fuels cornerbacks like Brown that want to follow in the footsteps of those who have found success with Ohio State.

Brown feels like Walton can get him there.

“It’s very motivating just knowing that I have a coach that’s seen that and coached that at a high level. Just learning from him, picking his brain on everything,” Brown said. “That’s the most exciting part.”

Let’s look at Brown and Turner first:

Brown: 6-foot, 185 pounds; four-star, 5.9 Rivals rating, No. 165 nationally in 2022, No. 16 cornerback, No. 9 in Ohio

Turner: 6-foot, 185 pounds; four-star, 5.8 Rivals rating, No. 184 nationally in 2022, No. 17 cornerback, No. 25 in Florida

Now, let’s look at each of Ohio State’s first-round corners since 2014...

Read the rest of the column here.