Oklahoma State coaches laud Black’s work ethic, attention to detail and yearly improvement
It didn’t take long for Bryan Nardo to figure out what Korie Black was all about after being hired as Oklahoma State defensive coordinator before the 2023 season.
“He was actually the first player I met when I got to campus. I went into the indoor [practice facility] two days after I was announced as the coordinator,” Nardo said. “It was a Sunday and I go in there to see the indoor for the first time and Korie Black’s in there doing extra work by himself — with his dog. He had his pet in there.
“I have a 3-year-old who’s running over to the dog, he’s [Black] probably like, who’s this idiot running up here with his kid? It was me.”
That was Nardo’s introduction not only to Black, but to the work ethic that would eventually lead the Oklahoma State cornerback to the Giants.
“He’s an unbelievable kid. He’s an incredibly hard worker. Very smart,” Nardo said. “Very good cover corner. Almost undervalued in what he did at Oklahoma State because you almost took for granted how good he was.
“The one thing about Korie that I always loved was anything that was asked of him, anything that needed to be done to the smallest detail, it was done. And done at a very high level. Everything that, as a coaching staff, we asked Korie Black to do, there was never a doubt he was going to do it. Which I think is a testament to his loyalty, a testament to his work ethic, and why he has risen so high and done so well.”
Nardo shared a small detail that he appreciated about Black.
“We did green mouthpieces if you got a takeaway. And that was something I had taken with me wherever I’ve been. You look at all the pictures of Korie Black, he’s always wearing the green mouthpiece,” Nardo said. “He wasn’t like some of the other guys that would put another color on or do their own thing every now and then. It was a small thing, but I had told him how much I appreciated that. It was like, that’s what we’re supposed to do, and I’m going to do it.”
Tim Duffie was Oklahoma State’s cornerbacks coach during Black’s entire five-year career with the Cowboys.
“I think he’s a very dependable guy. Hard working. And he’s bigger than most people think. When you stand next to Korie, obviously he’s not 6’2”, but he’s a very thick, muscle-bound dude that can really change directions. A student of the game,” Duffie said. “Someone who has really, each year he played, developed to a better player. He’s one of those guys that’s always dissecting this game and trying to improve.
“I thought he played good for us, but his best football is ahead of him because he gets better every year.”
Black did not receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine, a fact that “shocked” Duffie.
“I just knew he would get that [Combine invite],” Duffie said. “Once I saw the numbers he put up at the Big 12 Combine it kind of showed this guy deserved a Combine invite.
“I’m certain if he had gotten a Combine invite he would have went higher [in the draft].”
The Giants hosted Black in East Rutherford, N.J. for a ‘30’ visit and selected him with their final pick, No. 246 in Round 7.
“I wanted to get picked a little bit earlier, but as long as I’m picked, especially by the Giants, because I took a top 30 visit there so it means a lot,” Black said.
Both NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein and The Athletic’s Dane Brugler had fifth-round grades on Black, with Zierlein saying he was “well worth a Day 3 pick for his traits and tape flashes alone.”
“I don’t know why he went where he went [in the draft]. I’m glad that he went,” Nardo, now the safeties coach at Charlotte, said. “I think Korie’s going to exceed expectations because he’s going to work incredibly hard. And he’s going to he’s going to outwork every expectation.”
Black, 6-foot-½-inch, 192 pounds, ran a 4.35 40-yard dash at his Pro Day with an impressive 9.27 20-yard split.
Black said he has “always been the fastest on my team” and knows the speed helps his game.
“Just being able to really play as far as corner, just being able to have makeup speed if that’s needed and stuff like that,” he said. “Just playing fast as well like on special teams, just being able to get down the field fast.”
Blacks blocked two field goals at Oklahoma State and his speed and tackling ability give him a chance to be a gunner on the punt team.
“I’ve coached guys that can run, but that speed didn’t translate on a football field,” said Duffie, a 24-year coaching veteran. “It’s not like he’s a track player playing football. He’s a football player with track speed.
Duffie believes there is more to Black’s game than speed.
“The change in direction in a short area where they have got to stop and start, I think he’s super explosive in short areas, which I think that’s the trait that corners got to have because they have to stop and start so much,” Duffie said. “Honestly, the most important trait, if you can catch up and track the ball, his tracking of the ball enhanced every year. In his last two years, it went through the roof of him being able to find the football, which to me, that’s the most important trait because if you can’t track the ball and the receiver can, you’re going to lose. He’s really good at that.”
Nardo summarized Black’s skillset this way:
“He’s got speed. He can play man. And he’s got enough savvy to feel where he needs to be in zone concepts to show up and make a big hit.”
Duffie referred to two more traits that give Black a chance — confidence and coachability.
“Whatever I told him, you need to improve and get better at it, and he never forgot it. He never personalized it. He never let it affect his confidence. He always just wanted to fix it,” Duffie said. “He’s got some natural confidence about him, and he wants to cover the best guy. He’s super, super competitive, which I think is a huge trait at playing corner, especially at that level, because the quarterbacks are so elite, and they’re throwing it to an elite athlete.”
Seventh-round picks get nothing handed to them in the NFL. They often have to wait behind players picked high in the draft or signed to big-money free agent contracts.
“When you come in there as a seventh-round pick, you’re not going to start out there with the ones, you’re going to have to fight a nd show those guys you can play teams and have the fundamental skills to understand it,” Duffie said. “He’ll need some breaks, but he’ll be there ready to take advantage of the break he gets.”