Malcolm Jenkins knows a good secondary when he sees one.
The former Ohio State All-American cornerback and Thorpe Award winner moved to safety in the NFL, where he now plays for Philadelphia.
Jenkins said the Buckeyes’ secondary made the difference in this year’s national championship run. Jenkins represented Ohio State at the College Football Championship game as part of the Capital One Cup, which awards $400,000 in student athlete scholarships to the schools that win the men’s and women’s sports.
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The Buckeyes were awarded 60 points after beating Oregon 42-20 on Monday. Jenkins said Ohio State’s secondary made the difference.
“Early in the season they gave up way too many big plays,” Jenkins told Sporting News. “In the last month, they made it really tough to throw the ball down the field. Ohio State defensive backs have always tackled well in space.”
The good news? Cornerback Doran Grant is the only senior. Redshirt freshman Eli Apple returns at cornerback as sophomore, and safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell will be juniors. That’s the unit that helped the Buckeyes finish with more interceptions (25) than touchdown passes allowed (17).
They’ll continue the tradition Jenkins helped build will continue. Jenkins didn’t hesitate to call Ohio State “Cornerback U,” and he still talks about the meeting room for the secondary. All those Ohio State legends – from Jack Tatum to Jenkins – are pictured on that wall.
“I used to look at it and want to be on that wall,” Jenkins said. “These were guys I idolized. You can’t help but get caught up in that tradition.”
Jenkins also said perceptions about the Big Ten should change, especially after Ohio State beat Alabama and Oregon in the playoff. Jenkins played on the Ohio State teams that lost BCS championship games to Florida (2006-07) and LSU (2007-08).
“Ohio State not only beat a SEC team, they beat the SEC team in Alabama,” Jenkins said. “You’ll see a lot of mouths get quiet real quick, then you’ll start to hear the excuses. It’s fun.”
