Ohio State’s secondary looks different heading into this season, and Jermaine Mathews Jr. is suddenly the steady hand in the room.
The Buckeyes have moved on from Davison Igbinosun, Caleb Downs, and Lorenzo Styles Jr., and while the transfer portal helped plug some of those openings, there are still familiar pieces back in the mix. Devin Sanchez and Jaylen McClain return, but Mathews is the veteran of the group now, the cornerback who has already piled up a résumé that makes him impossible to ignore.
Mathews arrived from Winton Woods High School in Cincinnati as part of Ohio State’s 2023 class and came in with plenty of pedigree. He was a four-star recruit, finished his senior year with six interceptions, forced and recovered four fumbles, and took three of those picks back for touchdowns. By the end of that prep career, he was ranked among the top five Ohio recruits in the 2023 cycle.
He didn’t wait long to make an impact in Columbus. As a freshman, Mathews played in 11 games and earned his first start against Purdue.
His signature moment that season came against Western Kentucky, when he intercepted a pass and raced 58 yards for a touchdown. He closed the year with 13 tackles and three passes defensed to go with that pick-six.
Mathews didn’t start in Ohio State’s national championship season in 2024, but he was still a meaningful part of the defense. Working on both defense and special teams, he appeared in more than 500 plays over 16 games and finished with 22 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a sack against Iowa.
That workload set the table for a bigger role in 2025, and Mathews delivered. In the opener against Texas, Ohio State led 7-0 late in the third quarter when Mathews picked off an Arch Manning pass. The Buckeyes cashed in immediately, with Julian Sayin hitting Carnell Tate for a 40-yard touchdown to stretch the lead to 14-0.
That turnover mattered even more when Texas trimmed the margin to seven with a little more than three minutes left, only to come up short the rest of the way. Mathews went on to start all 14 games, added another interception against Purdue, broke up three passes, and recorded a sack in the win over Illinois.
His season earned him Third Team All-Big Ten honors, and he finished with a career-high six tackles in the Cotton Bowl loss to Miami.
Mathews considered entering the 2026 NFL Draft, but ultimately chose to return to Columbus for his senior year. He’s already on the Lott IMPACT Trophy preseason watch list, and he’s expected to line up opposite Sanchez at cornerback, though he could also see snaps at nickel, a spot he has played before in Ohio State’s defense.
Wherever he lines up, Mathews brings the kind of experience Ohio State needs with so many new faces around him. He’s already delivered in big moments, and with a difficult schedule ahead, the Buckeyes will be leaning on that again.
In Other News...
Ohio State Camp Battles Are Raising Early Concerns At Key Positions
Ohio States fall camp has already taken on the feel of an open audition, with the Buckeyes trying to fill holes left behind by NFL Draft departures while sorting out several key position battles. The competition has been wide open enough that early reps have mattered, and three players in particular, Legend Bey, Bo Jackson and Connor Hawkins, have all dealt with some version of camp friction, whether from injury, uneven play or the pressure that comes with trying to lock down a starting job.
Legend Bey and Bo Jackson are still working through the kind of growing pains that can come with a crowded camp, and the staff has reason to keep watching both closely as the depth chart takes shape. Hawkins, meanwhile, has been part of a shaky early kicking picture, and the overall concern is less about one bad day than about how quickly Ohio State can settle these spots before the questions start following the Buckeyes into the season. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Backup QB Battle Just Got More Serious Behind Julian Sayin
Fall camp is still giving Ohio State a chance to sort out the edges of its depth chart before Week 1 against Ball State, and the early signs have included the usual mix of freshmen earning black stripes and veterans settling into their roles. Julian Sayin is firmly in place as the starter, but the quarterback room behind him is drawing more attention than it might have a few weeks ago as the Buckeyes continue to work through practice reps and evaluate who is ready for the next snap.
Ryan Day said Luke Fahey is making a push in the race for the backup job, a development that adds a little more urgency to a competition that had already been worth watching. The same kind of uncertainty is showing up on the offensive line, where the staff is still trying to find the right starting combination while injuries have complicated the picture, including Austin Siereveld being slowed as that group gets sorted out. [Read more 🡒]
Arthur Smith Is Letting Julian Sayin Run Ohio State His Way
Arthur Smith is giving Julian Sayin a fair amount of room to steer Ohio States offense this season, and that says plenty about where the Buckeyes think their quarterback is headed. Smith has talked openly about trusting Sayin to manage things in a more traditional way, leaning into the rhythm and cadence that come naturally to him after a season in which he set a program record by completing 77% of his passes.
There is also a clear sense that the staff is building around more than just the quarterbacks accuracy. Sayin showed real touch on deep throws, and Smiths work with defensive coordinator Matt Patricia on game planning suggests Ohio State is trying to keep the operation sharp on both sides of the ball. The bigger question now is how far Smith lets Sayins comfort level shape the offense once the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]