Denzel Burke’s offseason training paved the way for him to recover from sophomore slump

Tim Walton noticed a pattern. During Ohio State's spring practice, cornerback Denzel Burke would consistently demonstrate his dedication.

Burke met Walton for additional film sessions, took copious notes in position meetings and sought out individual work on the indoor field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, arriving in the early morning hours to catch passes on a JUGS machine.

“He was dialed in,” said Walton, the Buckeyes’ secondary coach. “He was focused. He was intentional about how he practiced.”

A series of setbacks the previous fall fueled Burke. After breaking out as a freshman, he slumped as a sophomore, hampered by multiple injuries and left vulnerable in coverage.

The adversity resulted in him devoting more time to his training this past offseason and fine-tuning his preparation, putting him on a path to bounce back this fall.

“It was really a blessing in disguise,” Burke said, “because it really helped me grow. It helped me to get that out of the way as a corner and know what it feels like to be in that position.”

Burke looked like a lockdown corner in September, allowing only a handful of passes to be completed against him and stepping up as a critical piece for one of the nation’s stingiest defenses.

According to Pro Football Focus, he has allowed just six completions and no touchdowns on the 18 times he has been targeted in coverage, a catch rate of 33.3% that is much lower than the 56.4% he surrendered the previous season. He also gave up three touchdowns last fall.

He commanded enough respect from Notre Dame in the Buckeyes’ comeback win over the Irish two weeks ago that quarterback Sam Hartman threw his way only once.

“Denzel is really playing at a high level,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said, “and when you scheme up coverages and you know you can count on him to take that out of the equation, it allows you to do some other things with the other guys.

“It's just a great thing for the defense and the team when you got a guy like that.”

Physical toll from 2022

Burke’s up-and-down sophomore season began with a hit.

In a preseason intrasquad scrimmage at Ohio Stadium, he went in to tackle Miyan Williams, one of the Buckeyes’ bruising running backs.

“He’s like a bowling ball,” Burke said.

The impact led to nerve damage in his left shoulder and sidelined him for most of the preseason practices. He did not return until the days before the season opener against Notre Dame.

Later in the month, he split a joint on his right hand, leading him to miss a game and wear a cast.

“It was a hard year,” Burke said, “just not going out there and being able to do what I know I can do at a high level.”

Burke’s confidence took a hit as a result, although he made strides as the season wore on.

But the finish was as difficult as any stretch he experienced. He surrendered the game-winning touchdown in the Buckeyes’ loss to Georgia in their College Football Playoff semifinal clash, falling behind wide receiver Adonai Mitchell on a route toward a corner of the end zone.

The sequence was a pivotal one as Burke turned the page on the year.

“That last play can either become a source of motivation,” said Will Sullivan, a longtime private defensive backs coach who has trained Burke since high school, “or I’ve seen some DBs just go into the dumps and have a hard time working away from that social media stigma and all the terrible things that are said about you. He was able to block those things out.”

Turning the page

It began with a candid conversation.

When Sullivan spoke with Burke on the day following the Buckeyes’ postseason defeat, he was honest about his struggles from 2022.

For as much as it was painful, it was a needed step.

“We’re not going to have excuses,” Sullivan said. “Take accountability, examine what went wrong and move on.”

That put Burke in the right frame of mind to address everything from his technique to recognizing wide receivers’ routes.

The effort was not only seen at practices or workouts at Ohio State, but also when Burke returned home to Phoenix to train with Sullivan during breaks between semesters.

They got together on countless occasions, Sullivan said, with Burke flying out to multiple cities to meet for additional sessions.

Sullivan trains a variety of NFL defensive backs, which takes him across the country to meet with his clients. So Burke often followed.

“It wasn’t like, ‘I’m going to spring break with my friends,’ ” Sullivan said. “Hey, I’m going to such and such to hang out.’ No, that brother was calling me. ‘Where are you at?’ ”

Their training emphasized all phases of man and zone coverage, as well as positioning from the slot or outside.

"He has been raised with a professional response," Sullivan said, "and his response, his feedback and the way he processed the adversity, it’s special."

It was a fortunate coincidence for Burke that Sullivan was a cornerback at Bowling Green in 1999 when Walton was in his first season as a secondary coach.

A lot of the concepts he teaches originated from Walton, allowing Burke to double down on the ideas that he first learned in Columbus.

The effort Walton saw from Burke in the offseason was not a surprise.

“This is what he lives to do,” Walton said. “He’s really passionate and has a true love for the game, and he’s willing to do the things that are necessary where he finishes up with a great, outstanding college career and it'll open up doors and a chance at the next level.”

Burke’s competitive fire previously put him in position two years ago to be the first true freshman since Andy Katzenmoyer in 1996 to start a season on defense despite limited experience at the position at Saguaro High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Now it has set the stage for his turnaround, a breakthrough

“It’s a good start to the year,” Burke said, “but I've got to stay consistent, so I’m going to be worried about making routine plays routine and continue to have fun.”

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on Facebook and X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He can also be contacted at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How Ohio State football CB Denzel Burke recovered from sophomore slump