Ohio State Football: Who’s the real Denzel Burke?

The Ohio State football team beat up Arkansas State Saturday afternoon 45-12. But Buckeye cornerback Denzel Burke has not had a great start to his season thus far. 

The Ohio State Buckeyes handled business on Saturday afternoon. C.J. Stroud looked like his old self, the receivers got involved in the passing game and the defense limited the Arkansas State Red Wolves to four field goals.

But it was the play of second-year cornerback Denzel Burke that had me a bit worried after the victory. Burke looked shaky in the week one win against Notre Dame and that continued yesterday.

The freshman All-American from last season gave up two pass interference penalties on the same first-half drive and also got beat on a streak down the sideline by Arkansas State receiver Champ Flemmings.

Cornerback coach Tim Walton took notice and actually pulled Burke for a series as JK Johnson came in and took over for him. Maybe that was to be seen as a wake-up call for Burke? Either way, Burke needs to get back to his freshman season form in order for this defense to play at an elite level.

This is also a little concerning given the fact that Burke also did not play that well down the stretch last season either. He struggled in both the Michigan game and the Rose Bowl. But we also have to remember that while Burke has a lot of playing experience, he is still a very young player in only his true sophomore season.

Hopefully, as the season moves along Denzel Burke can get back to the player that we all know he can be. Some people thought that Burke had a shot to be an All-American this year. That clearly was too much wishful thinking.