Las Vegas Raiders Rookie Roles: Cornerback Damon Arnette

Las Vegas Raiders Rookie Roles: Cornerback Damon Arnette

College Career

Damon Arnette was originally a three-star recruit out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where he, in a funny twist of fate, played for the St. Thomas Aquinas Raiders. He made his way to Ohio State but redshirted his freshman season after an injury was discovered to his tibia in pre-season training camp.

In his redshirt freshman season, Arnette was a reserve defensive back, but still played in 11 games for the Buckeyes and recorded his first interception at the college level. The following two seasons he was named a starter and recorded 40+ tackles and at least one interception in both years.

His play earned him an Honorable Mention to the All-Big Ten team and after his junior year he was planning to declare for the NFL Draft.

He graded out as a mid to late round pick at the time but before he could officially declare, he received a call from Buckeye legend Cris Carter that convinced him to return for his senior season.

The call from Carter did wonders for his career, as he had an excellent senior season that saw him earn a Second-Team All-Big Ten honor despite playing most of the year with a broken wrist. Arnette and fellow first rounder Jeff Okudah formed a fearsome cornerback tandem and he will hope to do the same with second year corner Trayvon Mullen in Las Vegas.