Ohio State football: Shaun Wade could be better than Okudah

Ohio State football is known to produce the best secondary players in the country. They just had a corner be the number three overall pick, but a current player might be even better.

Those who have played in the secondary for the Buckeyes claim that Ohio State football is Best in America, or BIA, at producing defensive backs. Based on the long list of players that have gone on to do great things in the NFL, it’s hard to argue anything different than that.

It’s a testament to how well Ohio State coaches its players that they can consistently produce first-round picks year in and year out. Some of those picks in recent years have been Marshonn Lattimore, Denzel Ward, Gareon Conley, and most recently Damon Arnette and Jeff Okudah.

Okudah was the gold standard for Ohio State corners. While he only had three interceptions in his Buckeye career, he never committed a penalty. He also never allowed a single receiver to gain more than 50 yards on him in any single game. He was truly a shutdown corner.

Shaun Wade might be the best corner Ohio State football has ever had

Even with all of the great stats and advanced metrics Okudah was able to show while he was in Columbus, his former teammate might be better than him. Shaun Wade was part of the three-headed monster the Buckeyes touted at corner last season and is possibly the best of the bunch.

Wade returns this season as the clear best corner on the team. He will slide out of the nickel spot to show that he can also cover on the outside. Wade might be the best of all of the Buckeye corners because he has shown the ability to be the most versatile.

Early in his career, Wade played some safety and did that well too. Then he obviously played mostly nickel a season ago as well. He did that so well that he was projected to be a first-round pick last season. Add the skill that he will show this season on the outside and he could end up being a top-3 pick like Okudah was.

Everyone in Columbus is hoping for football in the fall. Ohio State football in the spring would be bad because all of the top guys would sit out, including Wade. It would be great to see everyone get one last ride in the fall, so hopefully we all get to see it.