Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette announced Friday that he will return for his senior year with the Buckeyes and pass up a chance at the 2019 NFL Draft.
Arnette announced the decision on his Instagram account.
“After speaking with my family and getting valuable insight from Cris Carter I have decided (to) return to The Ohio State University to take care of some unfinished business with my brothers,” he wrote.
“I am excited for the opportunity to play for Coach Day and I also look forward to playing with the elite talent that will be returning next season.”
Arnette is a two-year starter and three-year contributor with the Buckeyes.
A product of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Arnette was a high school teammate of former Buckeye Nick Bosa.
Arnette is 6 feet tall and weighs 195 lbs. He came to OSU ranked as just a three-star prospect, but began making his mark in 2016 as a redshirt freshman.
He earned a starting role in 2017 opposite future first-round pick Denzel Ward, and was named a champion five times that season.
After Ward left for the Cleveland Browns, Arnette turned in a solid, if not spectacular redshirt junior year. He finished the 2018 season with 40 tackles, one interception and seven passes defensed.
He had a big interception in the third quarter of the Big Ten Championship Game, ending a drive in which Northwestern had a chance to take the lead.
Following the Rose Bowl win over Washington, he told reporters that he had already made up his mind about what he planned to do in 2019.
Now, we have the answer.
Arnette, junior Jeff Okudah and redshirt sophomore Shaun Wade will likely play a big role in the Buckeyes’ 2019 cornerback rotation.
OSU has typically given significant playing time at least three corners to keep players fresh throughout both individual games and the season on the whole.
Another corner, Kendall Sheffield, has not yet announced whether he will return for another season.
I would like to see Arnette tried at Safety… a la Malcom Jenkins his senior year. Arnette is serviceable as a corner, but may be able to be a better safety. Moreover, Safety is a position of need in lieu of misses like Pryor, Wint, etc.
Agreed. Very undisciplined as a corner…. way too handsy even in zone.
Jenkins didn’t move to safety until he got to the NFL, fwiw. Early in Arnette’s career, they almost moved him to safety, but he was the No. 4 CB behind Lattimore, Conley, and Ward in 2016.
I like! Never even thought of that, but a move to safety could be win/win for the kid and the team. Well played sir. Well played indeed
Really? He’s lucky we did not have a Chris Gamble to take his job.
Tressel said the best recruit is the jr.who does not leave.
Let’s hope he has that “senior year leap” that Coach Tressel used to talk about.