Ohio State Football: What to expect from Shaun Wade in 2020
By Ben Swanger
Shaun Wade is coming off a third-team All-Big Ten season inside at slot corner for the Ohio State football team, but in 2020 Wade will transition to the outside as the feature corner in Kerry Coombs’ defense.
Shaun Wade is entering his fourth season in the Ohio State football program. After redshirting his first year in Columbus, Wade’s two years of action were played exclusively inside at the slot corner position. Come the 2020 season, he will be counted on to be the best corner on the outside for the Silver Bullets.
Wade possess prototypical size to play on the outside, but in the past two seasons he found himself behind Jeff Okudah, Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield. Now that those past playmakers have moved on to the NFL, Wade has control of the keys to the car that is the legendary Ohio State defensive backfield.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper has already published his big board for the 2021 NFL Draft and Shaun Wade is Kiper’s sixth rated prospect. The DB was highly regarded as a first-round talent for the 2020 NFL Draft but he chose to return to Columbus for one final season. Wade now has the chance to impress pro scouts even more with a full season of snaps at outside cornerback.
In 2019 he recorded 26 tackles, four tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and one interception. Wade will be the only corner in the room with starting experience and will to have to step up as a leader and as a play maker.
Let’s take a deeper look inside the corner’s game.