Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore, Jeff Okudah Earn Top Honors from Pro Football Focus
Ohio State's defensive backs affectionately refer to themselves as B.I.A. - Best In America - although this season perhaps that acronym didn't fit as appropriately as it has in year's past. And while it's true that the Buckeyes' secondary had a fairly frustrating season, that's hardly been the case over the last decade on the whole.
In fact, the reference seems rather appropriate when you consider how well some of the defensive backs have performed while donning the Scarlet and Gray.
Pro Football Focus has been grading out individual performances since 2014. Over the past seven seasons, they've been ranking which players are the best at their respective positions. Regardless of professional success, PFF released a breakdown of the best players they've ever graded out.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were littered all over the defense.
While Chase Young and the Bosa brothers were given a nod on the defensive line, perhaps even more impressive is Ohio State's high rankings on the back end of the defense.
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When PFF released it's all-PFF-era (seven seasons) NFL Prospect Team on Wednesday, cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Jeff Okudah and free safety Malik Hooker were all recognized as the highest rated players are their positions.
Lattimore went on the win the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in his first year with New Orleans after he was drafted by the Saints at No. 11 overall. He's gone on to make three pro bowls in his first four years in the league. The Cleveland, Ohio native is one of the NFL's best corners, but his final season wearing the Scarlet and Gray was one of the best in recent college football history for a defensive back.
Okudah was just drafted last April No. 3 overall by the Detroit Lions and fought through injuries during his first season in the league (as well as during his final year in Columbus). But he was a unanimous All-American in his final year as a Buckeye. He became the highest drafted defensive back since the Seattle Seahawks took Shawn Springs third overall in 1997.
Hooker was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts No. 15 overall in 2017. He was a consensus All-American in 2016, which may have been his crowning achievement because his college career was unfortunately riddled by injuries. He only played two seasons for the Buckeyes, but his second season was awfully impressive.
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