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Ohio State absolutely owns the rights to the ‘DB U’ title
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Another year, another handful of Ohio State defensive backs getting selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Thursday night, former Buckeye cornerbacks Jeff Okudah and Damon Arnette became the latest to hear their names called in the first round of the NFL Draft. Okudah was the first off the board, selected No. 3 by the Detroit Lions while Arnette was taken at the No. 19 spot by the Las Vegas Raiders.
With those two being selected on Thursday night, Ohio State has now produced eight first-round defensive backs since the 2014 NFL Draft, nearly tripling the next-highest total. According to Chris “Bear” Fallica of ESPN’s College GameDay, no other program has had more than three defensive backs selected in the first round during that same span.
Here are the eight former Ohio State defensive backs who have been first-round draft picks since 2014:
- 2014: Bradley Roby — Denver Broncos (No. 31)
- 2016: Eli Apple — New York Giants (No. 10)
- 2017: Marshon Lattimore — New Orleans Saints (No. 11)
- 2017: Malik Hooker — Indianapolis Colts (No. 15)
- 2017: Gareon Conley — Oakland Raiders (No. 24)
- 2018: Denzel Ward — Cleveland Browns (No. 4)
- 2020: Jeff Okudah — Detroit Lions (No. 3)
- 2020: Damon Arnette — Las Vegas Raiders (No. 19)
That’s a pretty strong list of defensive backs. And considering the amount of talent the Buckeyes continue to bring in on the recruiting trail, there’s a good chance this trend continues in future years.
While there are a handful of other programs in the college game that attempt to claim the “DB U” moniker, it clearly belongs to Ohio State right now. When you’ve nearly tripled the number of first-round picks other schools have produced from the secondary, you earn that nickname.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB