He starred in the latter role a year ago, when he had 24 tackles — including four for loss and two sacks — forced two fumbles, broke up nine passes and intercepted another.
Wade considered entering the 2020 NFL Draft, where he might have been a first-round pick, but chose instead to return to school for a fourth year.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native made that decision with an eye on two things — expanding his skill set and winning a national championship.
Through three games this season, Wade has 10 tackles and one pass breakup, though his numbers not being what they were a year ago is at least somewhat to be expected because of his new role.
He isn’t likely to make as many tackles since he is lining up farther from the ball, and many of his blitz opportunities have been replaced by coverage assignments.
He was also involved in several high-profile big plays against both Penn State and Rutgers, incidents he said he is learning from.
“Sometimes I just feel like I try to go for the interception too much,” Wade said. “That’s what happens when you get greedy sometimes, but at the end of the day it’s my body position. I’m jumping back, so learning how to jump into the guy instead of jumping back to get the ball.”
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He notably was boxed out on a highlight-reel touchdown catch by Penn State’s Jahan Dotson two weeks ago, though whether or not anyone else playing Wade’s position could have broken up that pass is highly in doubt.
He had a better chance to break up a pass to Rutgers tight end Jovani Haskins in the end zone last game that ultimately turned into a 6-yard touchdown catch.
“I could have just broke the ball up because I was there, but you can see when I jumped, I faded back,” Wade said. “My body went back instead of jumping into him so we both can fight for the ball. We both kind of had the ball. He was a tight end, and tight ends are stronger than DBs so eventually he was probably going to take the ball away from me, but if I jump into him it distracts him. I hit him. We both make body contact. We didn’t make body contact. We just had hand contact on the ball.”
All cornerbacks are expected to have short memories, so failures fade rather than linger into the next play, something Wade is well aware of.
“The greatest had balls caught on them,” he said.
While that is a common refrain among cornerbacks, he cited former Ohio State cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Florida State standout Jalen Ramsey — who are both thriving in the NFL — as examples.
“It happens. You’ve just got to snap and clear and move on to the next play,” Wade said. “Really all I care about is winning.”
He was open and detailed when reporters asked about his miscues early this season and came across comfortable with what he’s been able to do so far.
“You’re going to be disappointed when you want to be great. At the end of the day, I’m always going to be disappointed,” Wade said. “Even when I have a good game, I’m always going to know some play y’all probably don’t see that I want to get better at, so at the end of the day I just want to get better. That’s all I care about. Me getting better and this team getting better.”
He doesn’t mind the scrutiny, either.
“If I play bad and we win the natty, I’m gonna be happy because we won the natty, know what I’m saying?” Wade said. “That’s just how I am, how I was my whole life.”
While Wade and Sevyn Banks hold down the starting spots at cornerback, head coach Ryan Day is still hopeful of getting more from sophomore Tyreke Johnson and true freshmen such as Ryan Watts, who has played the last two games, and Lejond Cavazos, who is still working his way back from a preseason injury.
“The only way to learn is to make mistakes,” Day said. "And it’s going to be hard, but we’re gonna have to live with it.
“It was good to see Ryan out there. It’s gonna be good to get some more of those guys out there and get Lejond kind of back in the mix.”
The prospect of a positive COVID-19 test sidelining a starter at any time increases the urgency.
“At any point those guys might be playing, so we’re going to have to put them out there,” Day said. “There’s going to be good plays, and there’s going to be bad plays, but the only way for them to get better is to learn. Now, we’ve got to practice better — and that’s something that we’re really focusing on this week — but really, playing is going to be important, too.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Indiana at Ohio State, Noon, Fox, 1410
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