Last confirmed: Ohio State, 2017. No 2026 box-score games on record.
5′10″ · 191 lb · Macedonia, OH · Nordonia
Denzel Ward: CB · Ohio State · #12.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Denzel Ward
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away. Second year in the Ohio State secondary. A game that shows it: 8 tackles against Michigan — Week 13, 2017.
Play style
Reads the quarterback's eyes and takes the ball away.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
37 tackles. 15 passes defended. 1 interception. 2 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about him by name this season.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ohio State | 37 | 30 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 15 | 1 |
| 2016 | Ohio State | 23 | 12 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 | -- |
| Career | 60 | 42 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 24 | 1 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2017 season · 11 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 49-21@ Indiana | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 2 | L 16-31vs No. 5 Oklahoma | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 38-7vs Army | 5 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 54-21vs UNLV | 3 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 5 | W 56-0@ Rutgers | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 7 | W 56-14@ Nebraska | 5 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 39-38vs No. 2 Penn State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 10 | L 24-55@ Iowa | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 11 | W 48-3vs No. 13 Michigan State | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 13 | W 31-20@ Michigan | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 14 | W 27-21@ No. 3 Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Total | 37 | 30 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 15 |
Week 1 · 2017
W 49-21
at Indiana
1 interception · 4 tackles · 5 pass breakups
Dominant 28-point win on the road against Indiana.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
41%15 pass breakupsInterceptions
1interceptionsTackle volume
37tackles this season37 tackles · 2 for loss · 15 pass breakups · 1 interception.
2 seasons under Urban Meyer — 23-4 over that span.
Splits · Per-game
2017 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 |
| Road5g | 3.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 3.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Urban Meyer
Pass share
43.3%
439 pass / 575 run
Plays / game
72.4
14 games
Team sack rate
4.6%
477 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2017
Fewer tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Career, closed
Gone at #4 overall.
How it ended
Two seasons at Ohio State, 60 tackles — drafted at #4 overall by the Cleveland Browns.
His career
Coaching lineage · 2015–2017
1 coachPlayed his entire career under Urban Meyer.
Where he ended up · NFL
Cleveland BrownsEntering 9th NFL season
Cleveland BrownsEntering 9th NFL season
