'Rep-eater' Demario McCall making most of switch to cornerback for Buckeyes
COLUMBUS — Demario McCall sat down at a table surrounded by media Friday after Ohio State practice.
He was ready for the questions about his switch to defensive back. About the potential that never came to fruition on the offensive side of the ball. And most importantly about his maturity — an aspect and side of McCall rarely, if ever, seen during his Buckeyes career.
McCall was more candid than he has ever been in the past. His tenor was different. And he was ready to discuss what has gone into the maturation process in becoming a better player — this time on the defensive side of the ball as he battles for playing time in a new role.
“I feel like a lot of people who would who would have been in my shoes right now would have transferred or left,” McCall said. “That’s the easy way. I just feel like me being me and just where I come from, the transition from receiver to corner was the easy part for me. So it was not a hard choice for me to make at all. …
“I mean, to be honest, nobody wants to be [in college] six years. But we all got different routes. God has a plan for all of us. This is the plan. He’s driving, and I’m with it.”
A former four-star running back from in-state North Ridgeville, McCall was slated to be next in line as a versatile H-back for the Buckeyes. He became a polarizing return-specialist and garbage-time superstar who flashed potential against Rutgers and Maryland — but also fumbled kickoffs in huge moments against Michigan.
It seemed like McCall would spend his five years on the bench at Ohio State and move on from the program. But the NCAA’s eligibility rule due to the pandemic gave McCall an unexpected sixth season to figure out a role on the Buckeyes roster.
He may have found it at defensive back, a spot he is growing more comfortable in with every day of training camp.
“[Secondary coach] Matt [Barnes] had a great description of Demario yesterday,” defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said. “He told the DBs: ‘[Demario’s] a piece of clay.’ He just does everything the way we tell him to do it because he’s never done it before. Other guys do things the way they want to do it because they’ve done it before. Not Demario. He is doing things exactly right because he doesn’t know any better. You love that about Demario. He’s high-energy. He’s quick-twitch.
“I’m excited to watch him play. He gets out there, and he’s a rep-eater. He shows up every day, and he’s eating a bunch of reps. He’s competing. There’s more than one occasion in the meeting room where Matt’s pointing out, ‘Hey, this is the best of these techniques that we’ve had so far.’ It’s Demario.”
McCall will continue to eat the reps and get better at cornerback. He’s only been playing there for a few months, but he is already proving himself to be an option alongside former four- and five-star cornerback recruits.
After a career full of mishaps, blunders and missed potential on the offensive side of the ball, McCall seems to have a new sense of maturity and readiness. It’s taken a lot of time, but McCall can and will be in the mix in the secondary, a spot he didn’t play for his first five years at Ohio State.
“Every opportunity that I’ve had since I’ve been here, I’ve taken advantage of it,” McCall said. “I’m continuing to do that.”
What is the opportunity this year? It’s on the other side of the ball, and it might just mean — finally — a chance to make an impact.
“He’s going to play,” Coombs said.
