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Jarrick Bernard-Converse is embracing a new challenge during his junior season by making the transition from safety to cornerback at Oklahoma State.
“I’m really comfortable,” he said Wednesday during his media availability. “Getting better everyday. I feel more comfortable everyday as practice goes on.”
Bernard-Converse had 113 career tackles (5.5 tackles for loss), 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and six pass breakups in 22 career starts during his first two seasons. Of his 54 total tackles this past season, 31 came on pass plays.
This season he’s making the move to cornerback to fill the absence left by A.J. Green, who went undrafted in the NFL Draft but ended up signing with the Browns. Bernard-Converse has already seen one key difference during preseason camp between the safety and cornerback positions — less coverage space.
“I’ll say corner you have to cover less space,” he said. “Because the cover safety position you got a two-way go, you’ve got the other side of the field and you’ve got the boundary you can go. But at corner I feel like you’ve just got one little area, but it’s not much different.
“You’re still covering at the end of the day. You still got to know what you’re doing, know the defense and what the offense is trying to do to you.”
Bernard-Converse and Rodarius Williams — both of Shreveport, Louisiana — were named OSU’s two starting cornerbacks Monday for the Cowboys’ season opener against Tulsa on Sept. 19 in Stillwater. Williams, a three-year starter, was a lock for one spot but Bernard-Converse had to beat out Missouri graduate transfer Christian Holmes for the other spot.
“He brought some experience from Missouri and he’s just been getting better everyday,” Bernard-Converse said of Holmes, who started 12 of his 35 games for the Tigers. “He brought a lot of juice to the secondary, he’s been keeping us active and he’s just been getting better and making us better too. He’s also a great leader.”