Gareon Conley is well aware of those who came before him.
Bradley Roby, Doran Grant, Eli Apple in recent years; Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Gamble, Antoine Winfield, Shawn Springs and more before that. Ohio State has a relatively longstanding history of NFL-caliber cornerbacks. This is not a secret.
“My coach talks about it all the time,” Conley said Sunday at the team's media day. “He’s like, ‘You’ve got to uphold the tradition.’”
No pressure, of course.
After he was the only newcomer to Ohio State’s secondary in 2015, Conley is the lone returning starter this season in the Buckeyes’ back four.