Ohio State Football: Demario McCall making good impressions at cornerback

Perhaps one of the most surprising developments so far in practice for the Ohio State football team is how the sixth-year player has performed so far.

Demario McCall is well-traveled in terms of switching position rooms on the Ohio State football team. At first, McCall was recruited as a running back, and many were excited due to his quicks along with his ability to make people miss.

McCall at running back did not work out, so he was switched to wide receiver. Similar to running back, wide receiver wasn’t ideal for McCall either. In McCall’s fifth season, his only hope was to make an impact on special teams. Once again, he made little impact as a return specialist.

Going into his sixth season, McCall was converted to cornerback. This certainly seemed like a head-scratching decision, was this just McCall’s last-ditch effort to make an impact somewhere?

Contrary to the expectations for McCall at corner, he has made a great impression in his newly-found role. After a few days into Fall camp, the Ohio State football team’s Defensive Coordinator, Kerry Coombs, gave praise to McCall,

"There’s more than one occasion in the meeting room where Matt’s (Barnes) pointing out hey this is the best of these techniques that we’ve had so far. He’s gonna play."

This is mind-boggling considering McCall moved to the secondary in January. Matt Barnes, Ohio State’s Secondary coach, who focuses on defensive back technique is noticing McCall for his good technique at corner. Transitioning to a position McCall hasn’t played and quickly being noticed for proper technique is very impressive.

Coombs went on to state McCall will play. But is McCall going to play in blowout games or have meaningful snaps? It is very hard to grasp the concept of a player switching to a position he’s never played before, and then getting meaningful snaps at the position.

In addition, where McCall can play in the Buckeyes’ secondary is limited. He is only 5-foot-9 and 191 pounds, there is no way he sees time as an outside corner. The only spot where McCall makes sense is at slot corner, also known as nickel.

Will McCall really beat out rising young talents like Latham Ransom or Cameron Martinez for slot corner? Further, the veteran Marcus Williamson is a candidate for the nickel position. Clearly, McCall will have a lot of competition for slot corner.

So far, McCall’s switch to cornerback seems to be working. Most were skeptical of McCall’s relocation to the secondary due to his inexperience. His athleticism cannot be denied, this is likely why he can smoothly transition to another position. Similar to his career on the Ohio State football team, McCall’s role at cornerback will be noteworthy.