Jermaine Mathews Happy To Make Plays Anywhere He Lines Up

Last year, Jermaine Mathews was there when the Buckeyes needed him. As a sophomore cornerback, Mathews was a fixture in Ohio State’s secondary rotation over the second half of the season.

After not seeing a snap on defense in the loss to Oregon, Mathews averaged 30 snaps a game over the Buckeyes’ final 10 contests, including stepping in during the second half of the win over Texas for an injured Denzel Burke.

Mathews has always answered the call as a Buckeye, which also included a pair of starts as a true freshman while Burke missed games in 2023.

Now, with Burke off to the NFL, Mathews is once again being called upon to be a fixture in the Ohio State lineup. And there are no real concerns that he’ll be anything other than ready.

What will Buckeye fans see from Mathews on the field this season?

“Very instinctive. Fast,” Mathews said this spring. “I think I play physical. I think I’m just an all-around corner. I think I can play off, play press. I can come up and tackle. I can make plays on the ball. I think I’m just an all-around corner.”

Even though Jermaine Mathews will have a larger role this year, his goal is the same as it’s always been: “Just to help the team any way that I can.”

He knows he’s going to be on the field more, which means he has to be ready for whatever an offense throws his way. Spring may be long over at this point, but the preparation continues.

“Just working on my technique, just the fundamentals of the game,” he said of his summer plans. “Just going back to square one, making sure my foundation is right. When we get to August and camp — it’s time to go there — so I want to get my foundation right, my technique right. We’ve also got a new defense, so learning the scheme and getting the scheme down as well.”

Mathews spent the spring of 2023 playing nickel, but he spent the bulk of this past spring playing outside corner. The expectation is that he’ll be outside this season, but the more important thing for Mathews is that he’s somewhere on the field.

“It don’t matter to me,” he said. “I just want to be on the field. Wherever I’m at, I’m going to give it my all.”

If he is at nickel at times this season, expect to see him making plays.

“It just gives me a chance to be closer to the ball,” he said. “I get to do more. It shows that I can do more. Other than just being outside, I can be inside as well. So it’s just being close to the ball. It’s showing I can do different things.” 

Jermaine Mathews’ attitude regarding his position of choice gives a pretty good glimpse into his attitude overall. He just wants to be on the field and help his team win. He’s also going to do it with a ton of energy, which is also going to be important for the team overall.

“I think a lot of guys can feed off of my energy,” he said. “So I just try to give the most energy I can and just encourage all the young guys and encourage even some of the older guys this year and the guys who don’t have as much experience on the field. I think it’s just giving people the confidence.”

The confidence is key. But it has to be real confidence, not false bravado. Mathews’ confidence grew as the season went on last year, to the point where he finally knew he belonged. Now he’s trying to help instill that in his teammates because he’s seen the effects first hand.

“I think confidence is the most important thing about this game,” he said. “If your confidence is where it needs to be and you feel confident to do your job, it’s going to go well for you.”

Mathews is not only helping his teammates along, he’s preparing himself for the biggest challenge of his Buckeye career. And if history is any indication, he will once again be ready when his team needs him.

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