Ohio State junior cornerback Bradley Roby has seen his draft stock fall this season, but showing off the confidence that all corners must possess, Roby said it doesn't bother him.
He told The Lantern, Ohio State's student newspaper, that while he has made some coverage mistakes this season, every corner gets beat sometime.
"That's the life of a cornerback," Roby said. "People get beat all the time. I see [Tampa Bay's Darrelle] Revis get beat all the time.
"It's so easy to make a mistake. Our mistakes are glorified because everybody sees them."
During the spring, Roby said he planned to enter the 2014 NFL Draft after this season, and going into the season, Roby was considered the best cornerback in the nation. That's not the case anymore; he isn't even one of 15 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the nation's top college defensive back.
"I had more opportunities last year because a lot of teams didn't really know who I was," Roby told the Lantern. "I can't really control that. I can only control what plays come to me. If I don't have the opportunity to make plays, I can't make plays."
Wisconsin wide receiver Jared Abbrederis torched Roby in the Buckeyes' narrow win over the Badgers, and Roby also struggled a week later in a win over Northwestern. He was ejected in the first quarter of an Oct. 19 win over Iowa and played well last week against Penn State. But he didn't match up all that often with Penn State star wide receiver Allen Robinson; instead, Doran Grant, the Buckeyes' other starting corner, spent more time covering Robinson.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
