Ohio State football: A leader must emerge in the secondary

The Ohio State football team needs a leader to emerge in the secondary who can hold the unit together when the going gets tough.

The Ohio State football team is so close to being a complete unit. Their offense is elite. They have perhaps the two best receivers in the country. Jeremy Ruckert might be the best pass-catching tight end in the country. The offensive line is certainly one of the best too.

On defense, the Buckeyes have a defensive line that is great once again. Zach Harrison can emerge to be an elite pass rusher and Haskell Garrett will be a First-Team All-American this season. The questions on this team are who is out there behind the front four.

The linebackers are an unknown since it will be an entirely new unit. We do know some guys who will be back there in the secondary though. Sevyn Banks and Josh Proctor are virtual locks to be starters at cornerback and safety respectively. But there are other spots that are open.

No matter who is back there, a true leader needs to emerge in the secondary. They didn’t have that leader last season and it cost them a national title. Shaun Wade wasn’t quite that guy that could make a difference and lock down the other team’s best guy.

People around the program think that it could be Banks. Banks has the physical size and speed to be a good corner. Personally, I think he got burned too much last year and was in the wrong place in certain coverages. I think he needs work as an NFL prospect.

Despite this, several mock drafts have Banks being taken in the first round in the 2022 NFL Draft. For that to happen, Banks will need to emerge as that true lockdown guy. If that happens then Ohio State will be very hard to beat. But Banks needs to be better to do that.

This is the thing I am most interested to see in the Fall. I can’t wait to see who will be back there.