In the final moments of Ohio’s big win against Akron, a ball from the hands of quarterback Ben Finley was tipped and fell perfectly into the hands of a roaming Austin Brawley. The second that the electric play was over, fellow defensive back DJ Walker was the first to jump in celebration with Brawley.
“We just really emphasized that we were going to get an interception that game,” Brawley said. “I went out and got one, and he was right in my face celebrating.”
Both Brawley and Walker finished the game stuffing the stat sheet. The two back-end defensive backs combined for 12 total tackles, two tackles for loss and two interceptions on the day, with Brawley and Walker each hauling in an interception.
The Akron game was the defining moment of the safety duo's excellent start. The two players knew they had chemistry on the field coming into the season, and their bond is evident when the Ohio defense is playing.
Walker, a redshirt freshman, has idolized Brawley’s play since the day he stepped foot on campus. Brawley’s mentorship of Walker started last season with Brawley being the starter and Walker adjusting to the college football experience as a true freshman.
“He helped me a lot last year. I was more of a strong (safety) and he was the starting strong (safety)," Walker said. "So him taking me under his wing, and just like always seeing what he did (really helped me)."
The camaraderie from that mentorship is easy to see on the field, especially when Brawley and Walker’s playstyles complement each other.
“We play the same type of way; we're ball hawks," Brawley said. "We want to make the big, flashy plays. By us being that type of player, we talk a lot. We just have an IQ connection type of thing. We both really love football. We just play good together.”
With both Brawley and Walker having the rest of this season and next season to be on the field together, there’s no doubt more big plays are coming from the Ohio secondary.
“We’re just getting started,” Walker said. “We still got a lot more games to go, a lot more picks that we could get, a lot more tackles. (We’re) just looking forward to it.”
Walker and Brawley knew how good they could be early in the offseason. Their connection foreshadowed signs of success.
“We've manifested this since the summer,” Brawley said. “I remember going out to coach Hauser and talking about how much I love playing with DJ and just the way we can play together.”
Manifestation and speaking things into existence seem to be an important part of the players’ connection; Walker said they manifested their interceptions against Akron before the game even started.
“We know that we’re the playmakers on the back end, so one of us has got to make a play and when I got (my interception) I said it's time to get yours,” Walker said.
The defensive roles for both players entering the season were a little different because of the experience gap between the two.
Brawley, the more seasoned half of the electric duo, went at the offseason hard after injuries marred a disappointing 2023 campaign.
“I wanted to have this type of year last year,” Brawley said. “I ended up having back surgery toward the end of the season last year and had to attack rehab hard throughout the offseason. It was kind of weird stepping into a role of not being able to practice but just watching. It honestly helped me learn more about myself and football.”
As for Walker, the redshirt freshman knew he would have a role in this defense. An untimely injury opened the door for him, and he took the opportunity and never looked back.
“I didn't know that I was going to have the starting role, but I knew that I was going to be getting into the rotation,“ Walker said. "I showed the coaches that I could play and compete, and coach Hauser told me that I was gonna be a big key to the secondary this year. Sadly, Jeremiah (Wood) went down, and I was the next man up, and I feel like I'm making him proud.”
The stats and accomplishments don’t mean anything without the team’s success, and Walker and Brawley are willing to do whatever it takes to get to the Mid-American Conference title game.
“We know what we have, and I think we're going to shock a lot of people this year,” Brawley said.
