Football: Receivers vs. Defensive-backs: A look inside fall camp’s most competitive battle

“I told you, I’m coming back.”

That’s what freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith told junior cornerback Davison Igbinosun after snagging a ball over him for a touchdown.

This was one of many competitive exchanges between Smith and Igbinosun throughout fall camp.

This year’s squad has brought a new intensity to Buckeye practices, with the receivers and defensive backs being at the center of many battles.

“Part of coming to Ohio State is that iron sharpens iron,” wide receivers coach Brian Hartline said. “That’s a cliche statement, but it’s really true. It’s two-fold, it’s the [defensive backs] you go against every day. You can’t have a bad day, so the combination of both is critical.”

Sophomore wide receiver Carnell Tate said he feels confident in the Buckeye wide receivers’ success this year because of Ohio State’s strong cornerback group, which has pushed the receiver room to new heights.

“We got a great secondary — Jordan Hancock, Davison Igbinosun, Denzel Burke, Jermaine Matthews Jr. — so like they’re getting us better each and every day,” Tate said. “We got like the best [defensive backs] in the country, so I don’t think there’s going to be a game where we face better defensive backs than what we got here.”

After a year of learning under Buckeyes first-round draft pick wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Tate said he is thrilled to have an opportunity to show his skills this season and isn’t afraid to get chippy with his words.

“They are gonna see me play ball, and they’re gonna see me talk my trash with it,” Tate said. “I feel like it’s my time now. If not now, then when?”

Those within the two position groups speak highly about the opposing sides, though on the field, the receivers and defensive backs are always clashing.

Head coach Ryan Day sees the in-practice competitiveness in a positive light, believing his players’ fire and trash talk simulates a better on-field experience.

“It’s another thing when you’re just going so hard that you’re being edgy and playing all the way to the edge of the whistle, like that’s what we want right there,” Day said. “You know our guys aren’t going to back down from anybody, and there just has to be that mentality every day when you’re out there that you have to bring it.”

Both the receiver and defensive back rooms seemed to operate as a brotherhood, with all players in the room working to compete hard and improve.

“We’re getting them better, coming with the mentality every day that we are going to run them,” senior cornerback Denzel Burke said. “They’re barking back now, and that’s just what we’re trying to bring every day, just continuing to bring that dog out of everybody else.”

Igbinosun has taken to the challenge of matching up against Smith routinely during camp, saying that he feels the freshman has helped him improve his skill set because of Smith’s special talent for catching jump balls.

“It’s super positive, just going against Jeremiah [Smith], that’s going to make Saturdays super easy,” Igbinosun said. “It’s super fun to win, but like if he catches it on me, I’m not happy about that.”

Despite being referred to as reserved by his teammates, Smith has also gotten in on competitive action. He said learning lessons from other veteran receivers has helped him compete against two of the top corners in college football — one of his chief reasons for choosing Ohio State.

“Camp has been going very well for me right now,” Smith said. “I’m still learning. I’m just a freshman, so listening to older guys that been here, that been through camp and just listening to coach Hartline, Emeka [Egbuka], [Carnell] Tate, Brandon Innis and Kojo [Antwi], Jaylen Ballard — the guys who’ve been here. I’m just listening to them guys, so they put me in the right direction.”

Hartline said he has been nothing but impressed with the day-in and day-out competition between his receivers and the defensive backs, giving the latter his highest praise for improving the former in a competitive nature.

“This is the best DB core, depth-wise and top-of-the-line wise, that I’ve seen since I’ve been here,” Hartline said.