In today’s day and age, roster management is challenging. Not only do you have the transfer portal and the lure of Name, Image and Likeness money, but there’s still the early declarations for the NFL draft to consider as well. Ohio State heard from another one of those eligible players on Thursday when starting cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. made his decision to return to play in the Scarlet and Gray for one more season rather than enter the 2026 NFL draft a year early.
It is probably a good move for Mathews. He had a solid year, but not one that would likely have landed him in the early rounds of the NFL draft, if at all. Coming back for one more season to hone his craft as one of the key figures of the secondary should be huge for his development and future with the NFL under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.
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Mathews notched 26 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, including one sack, and had two interceptions last season. However, the postseason was not kind to Mathews, as he gave up eight receptions for 108 yards against Indiana and Miami. He’ll look to put that aside and build on an otherwise solid few years in Columbus as he comes back to likely be a starter on the outside for an OSU defense that will look to retool again in 2026.
We are almost there, Buckeye Nation. The news on personnel movement has been a lot, but the transfer portal window closes Friday. We’ve also heard from all of the early NFL draft-eligible players we were waiting on, so the roster will be pretty close to being set soon.
However, as more news breaks, as in the likelihood of adding more players from the transfer portal, we’ll have it for you.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. decides on NFL, OSU future