Jermaine Mathews Remaining Patient, But Ready To Roll

Last year — for the third year in a row — a true freshman started at cornerback for the Buckeyes. Last season it was Jermaine Mathews, Jr. who got the nod. He was preceded by Jyaire Brown in 2022 and Denzel Burke in 2021.

Just because it has become a bit of a trend, don’t let that fool you into thinking it isn’t impressive for a first-year player to break into the starting lineup. Mathews started twice last season due to Burke missing time with injuries, but he wouldn’t have been in there if he hadn’t earned the trust of his coaches.

Mathews played in 12 games last year and finished with 13 tackles, three passes broken up, and a 58-yard interception return for a touchdown against Western Kentucky. His confidence grew over the course of the season, which he carried into the offseason and through spring ball.

Had Denzel Burke opted to turn pro, Mathews would have opened spring as a starter alongside returning starter Davison Igbinosun. Instead, Burke’s return gives the Buckeyes a versatile depth piece who is good enough to start. Wherever it ends up being, Mathews is intent on doing whatever is needed this season.

“Just a guy that can play anywhere in the back end,” he said this spring. “A guy that can help in special teams. Wherever they need me at this year, just gonna go out there and give it my all.”

Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and secondary coach Tim Walton have so much confidence in Jermaine Mathews at cornerback that they let him work at nickel this spring in order to be better equipped to help in that area should the need arise.

The Buckeyes return both starting cornerbacks and starting nickel back Jordan Hancock. Mathews is now positioned to step in for any of the three, and he credits them for helping make that happen.

“I think it’s about me pushing them and them pushing me,” he said. “Last year, it was about me just learning and they were helping me as the older vets. And now we’re all back again. So I think it gives me a chance to learn more and watch the vets. Like Denzel is about to be a four-year starter. That’s big. So just watching everything he does. How he prepares for practice, how he prepares every day, it’s going to help me in the long run.”

Mathews played more than most freshmen, which then builds expectations for even more playing time as a sophomore. That will likely happen here, but the expectations are for far fewer snaps than you would expect from somebody who stood out as a true freshman. Such is life at a place like Ohio State when there is talent everywhere and that talent decided to stick around another year.

The situation requires patience, which is something Mathews has had to embrace.

“Yeah, patience is a thing that’s very hard,” he said. “Especially when you come out of high school and you’re one of the higher-recruited players and you come here and you don’t play as much as you thought you would or play as much as you want to. I think patience is something that you’ve just got to hold on to and grab it and just don’t let it go.”

That kind of of understanding requires a maturity level that not everybody has at that age. Players want to play, and many of them are being told from all sides that they should be playing.

In the age of name, image, and likeness dollars and the green grasses of the transfer portal, patience ain’t what it used to be.

“A lot of it comes with just knowing yourself and knowing what your abilities are and knowing where you really are,” Mathews said. “I think some people get too ahead of themselves or think they’re ahead of where they really are. Just look in the mirror.”

Of course Jermaine Mathews, Jr. wants to play this year — and he will. Which is why when he looks in the mirror, he actually sees the path forward.

“It’s easy for a guy like me to get mad and want to run away and go somewhere else and do whatever I want to do, but I think patience is key,” he explained. “These last couple of years, my patience has definitely gotten better. It has helped me be a better player and a better man.”

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