Ohio State football: Lakota West grad, other freshmen pass first test in secondary

Specifically, that meant actually being able to practice.

“After watching the tape, I’ll give a lot of credit to Tim Walton and (defensive coordinator Jim Knowles) for getting those guys ready,” Day said. “Then for Jyaire and JK to step up the way they did, I’m very proud of them — but I think it goes to show you these guys both practiced all spring and all preseason.”

Although the staff was not eager to get into specifics, they acknowledged multiple cornerbacks were in and out of the lineup in the preseason while dealing with various injuries.

That allowed Brown, a true freshman from Lakota West High School, and Johnson, a redshirt freshman from St. Louis, to get more reps than they might have otherwise, and the work appears to have paid off.

They were both thrust into duty Saturday night when senior Cam Brown and sophomore Denzel Burke were unavailable, and both held their own.

Brown was flagged for pass interference — a foul Day disputed when it was called — but broke up a potential third down conversion in the second half. He was credited with one tackle while Johnson had four.

“The only way to get better is to practice, and they did,” Day said. “So when we went to put them in the game, the whole team believed in them because they saw it in practice. We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect, but they played very well.”

Walton is in his first season as an Ohio State assistant, but he is a veteran of the coaching business having started coaching at Bowling Green in the mid-90s.

He also knows a thing or two about being a Buckeye, having played cornerback for the Scarlet and Gray from 1990-93.

“Obviously there’s some things we have to correct, but (Brown) did well of handling those things and we just try to go each week and each day to try to be better than we were the day before,” Walton said. “So that’s kind of the approach we take to how well are we progressing on a daily basis. You know, that game is over, so we start a new week. And we got to start back from scratch with that foundation and with the work ethic and all those little things to make sure we prepare again for this week.”

Jyaire Brown and Johnson weren’t the only freshman to see the field on defense while the game was still in doubt.

Sonny Styles, a five-star prospect from Pickerington Central who graduated from high school a year early and enrolled in June, made an appearance early as part of a new personnel package the Buckeyes hadn’t shown in their first three games.

He is a safety, but the 6-foot-4, 222-pound Styles looked more like a linebacker when he took a spot on the second level of the defense along with regular starting linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers.

Coincidentally, that’s also the area his father, Lorenzo Styles, patrolled in the early 1990s for the Buckeyes, before playing six seasons in the NFL.

“He’s been proving himself in practice everyday, man,” Walton said of the younger Styles. “Again, he’s a guy that’s taken a lot of reps. When you get a lot of reps, he’s showing his level of maturity. He’s very mature for a young age, and that starts from home.

“He has a football pedigree, has a football background. I played with Lorenzo, so he’s used to being in tough situations. He’s been well-groomed there.”

Walton also praised first-year Ohio State safeties coach Perry Eliano for helping bring the younger Styles along.

“His dad did a great job with that man, and then Coach Eliano has really hit him hard with studying and preparing and just trying to be ready because you don’t know when that number is gonna be called, so you have to be ready for it,” Walton said. “That’s the approach we try to take in the room with older guys, and hopefully he keeps progressing and we look for great things from him in the future.”

SATURDAY’S GAME

Rutgers at Ohio State, 3:30 p.m., BTN, 1410