Heading into the 2026 season, the Ohio State football team faces a lot of uncertainty in the secondary. Caleb Downs and Davison Igbinosun are now gone as they head to the NFL. Several cornerbacks transferred as soon as the season ended, as well.
With the depth gone from the Buckeyes at the cornerback position, that gives one corner an excellent shot to take advantage of some added playing time. Of course, it all starts with a solid spring. That player is sophomore Devin Sanchez.
Sanchez saw increased playing time down the stretch of the 2025 season when Lorenzo Styles got injured. He had some rough moments when he first started getting some playing time, but the former five-star recruit really turned the corner in the final games of the year. Now, he's got a massive opportunity in front of him.
Ohio State cornerback Devin Sanchez has a huge opportunity this spring
If Sanchez has a solid spring, he has a real shot to become the other outside cornerback opposite of Jermaine Mathews Jr. Mathews Jr. is a really good player, and he needs someone with equal skills on the opposite side of the field. Sanchez certainly has the talent to do that.
Sanchez needs to show this spring that he has improved his technique so that he doesn't get beaten off the line of scrimmage as easily as he did last season. He let the receiver have too easy a release, and that hindered his ability to break up passes and force incompletions.
Matt Patricia loves the size and the speed that Sanchez has at the cornerback spot. It's all about him having some development as a second-year player in the program. Spring has a chance to really instill some confidence in him, especially going against a really good Ohio State offense.