Much has been talked about Ohio State’s natty run. Down to the wide receiver room to the trenches, everything fell perfectly for Ryan Day. Key pieces of the championship-winning roster are no longer with the Buckeyes. Most have moved to the pros. However, some production is returning, including one significant starter in the secondary. Naturally, you’d expect that player to start. Not when there’s a true freshman prodigy ready to challenge him.

Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock, and Davison Igbinosun saw the most snaps at the CB position last year. Each of them was key to making the opposing defenses unidimensional. Hancock totaled 48 tackles. Burke also added another 48. On the other hand, Igbinosun might not have started many games, but he gained experience in some exceptionally crucial moments.

In the past two seasons, Davison Igbinosun has accumulated 104 tackles, including four tackles for loss. This also comes after the fact that Davison Igbinosun allowed fewer than 32 receptions last year in just 60 targets. The CB had key moments all year round, especially one against Penn State in November, when he made a jaw-dropping interception. Given his impressive performance last year, it’s widely believed that he will be the starter, right? That’s where true freshman Devin Sanchez makes his entry.

Recently, Pete Nakos of ON3 released a list of true freshman players who could command a starter position ahead of their more experienced colleagues. Devin Sanchez’s name was right there in the list, speculated to compete in fall camp and try to rise ahead of players like Davison Igbinosun. “The top-ranked cornerback in the 2025 cycle, Devin Sanchez, will have to compete in fall camp for snaps with Davison Igbinosun, Jermaine Mathews Jr., and Aaron Scott Jr.,” reported Pete Nakos. But the Fall camp competition isn’t the only reason why Sánchez is commanding his place.

According to various reports, Sanchez looked to be a reliable player in the spring ball at Ohio State. Moreover, the guy was the top cornerback recruit in the country for the 2025 class and already is touted to be the second-best defensive player in College Football ’27.

Furthermore, we have already seen that it was too tempting to deny a legacy recruit like Jeremiah Smith a chance to test the waters, and the result was apparent. In that spirit, Ohio State will probably flirt with the idea of getting Sanchez the starting position at cornerback. That said, the fall camp is still wide open, and that will have a bigger bearing on the CB battle. Then there’s the change in DC position, too.

A change in the DC spot makes things optimistic for Sanchez at Ohio State

Jim Knowles, last year, led Ohio State to an incredible defensive showing for the second consecutive year. For one, the team was ranked 3rd in passing yards allowed, along with being ranked 6th in yards per attempt (6). However, in the 2025 season, Jim Knowles is no longer at Ohio State and has landed at Penn State. This means OSU will be with a different DC, Matt Patricia, who may not favor Davison Igbinosun over Sanchez. This is a sentiment that has been echoing for some time now.

“Devon Sanchez is going to be the inverse of that, where he’s going to play because he might just be better than everybody else. I’m just high on Devin Sanchez. I’ve let myself buy into the hype. If we go into College Football ’27 and he’s the second-highest rated defensive player, I just wouldn’t be surprised,” said Andrew Gillis, an OSU Insider. So, if Sanchez becomes the starter, where will Igbinosun go?

It’s highly unlikely that Ohio State and Matt Patricia wouldn’t use Igbinosun to his full potential. It’s just that we could see the player lining up at nickel with probably Mathews and players like Sanchez and Scott Aaron commanding the usual positions. We may get a definite answer during the fall camp.