Buckeyes cornerback Miles Lockhart sheds black stripe

COLUMBUS — Miles Lockhart  is halfway through his second spring spring as he enters his second season at Ohio State. He’s beginning to make his move up the depth chart by stacking impressive days.

Lockhart lost his black stripe after practice Saturday morning, a sign that he’s officially a member of the football program. He’s the first Ohio State player to shed the black stripe this spring, and he’s one of the final members of his recruiting class to shed the stripe.

Second-year defensive linemen Dom Kirks and Eric Mensah as well as wide receiver Damarion Witten are Buckeyes who haven’t yet shed their black stripes.

Lockhart has an ideal build for an Ohio State slot cornerback, the nickel in the Buckeyes defensive system. He went through a redshirt season after choosing Ohio State out of Basha High School in Arizona. Lockhart was ranked as the No. 398 overall player in the country, the No. 37 cornerback and the No. 8 player in the state of Arizona in the class of 2024, part of a three-man cornerback class that also included Ohio natives Bryce West and Aaron Scott Jr.

Lockhart did not appear in any games last season for the Buckeyes.

But now he’s in his second spring with the program following a developmental year. And he’s proving he belongs in the cornerback room.

Miles Lockhart has shed his black stripe.