ARLINGTON, Texas -- When Ohio State cornerbacks needed a boost, Kerry Coombs turned to Denzel Ward. Just as he's been all season, Ward was Coombs' go-to guy, even if on Friday night Ward was out of his pads in track pants.

Ward sat out the Buckeyes' Cotton Bowl win over USC, declaring for the NFL Draft before the game and announcing that he wouldn't be playing in an effort to protect his draft stock. He had millions of dollars potentially on the line, and made the decision to safeguard his future as a likely first-round pick in April.

So Ward was never on the field, but several times Coombs sought out a player who -- according to multiple observers -- really struggled with the decision to skip his final game as a Buckeye.

"He practiced every day. He worked with his team. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, and he coached those guys up on the sideline tonight," Coombs said. "I said to him today at least five times, 'Denzel I need you to help me with this.' He went and talked to those guys as only a player can. I was really, really proud of him."

Ward never took the field for warmups, a telling sign that he wasn't going to play.

Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield started, and freshman Jeffrey Okudah played the most he's played at corner all season, rotating in with the two starters and playing in nickel situations. Coombs said they would have rotated more, but Arnette had an Achilles injury flare up.

The corners, for the most part, played well on a night when Ohio State's defensive line dominated. But you felt Ward's absence. You felt that the Buckeyes were missing a first-team All-American, and guy who proved time and again this year that you shouldn't throw on him.

That's part of the reason Ward's decision was met mostly with dissent. We polled cleveland.com readers before the game on Ward's decision. The majority, 51 percent, said they were mad with Ward and that healthy players shouldn't skip bowl games, and only 13 percent said they were OK with the decision.

This was Ohio State losing a really good player from its lineup when it was trying to cap the season with a win. The Buckeyes won anyway.

But mostly this is a new world for Ohio State. Players skipping bowl games to protect their NFL Draft stock started last year, though it's surely happened in the past under the guise of something less controversial. Some thought it wouldn't happen here, with players talking of brotherhood and how this program was different in the lead up to the bowl game.

It turns out Ohio State isn't immune to the trends of college football.

So Ward made a decision that didn't sit well with a lot of people, perhaps even some in the Buckeyes' locker room.

Coombs, though, was supportive.

"I love that kid," Coombs said. "That kid showed up every day for practice for the entire bowl period. He worked, he prepared, he got to the end and said I'm gonna help the team any way I can. He coached up those young guys. He was awesome. I love that kid. I think it's a very hard decision for Denzel or any other kid in that situation. He's got a big future ahead of him. Anybody who's disappointed with him, that's disappointing. He put his heart and soul out for Ohio State for three years."

If someone was going to sit out the game, perhaps Ward made the most sense. He's not the only player with first-round talent leaving after this season, but he's Ohio State's best draft prospect by a good margin.

This decision was a few weeks in the making, with discussion about ways to maybe lessen Ward's workload while still making him a part of the game plan.

"It began after the (Big Ten) championship game," Urban Meyer said. "I don't necessarily agree with everything, but a lot of people were pulling and telling stories, and everybody has an opinion and all of that. ... You're talking about not a good young man, but a great young man. And his mom is not a good mom, but a fantastic mom. They were asking our opinion. It went everywhere from play, to maybe just on third downs, to maybe on special teams, to he was practicing. And the decision wasn't made until, I don't know, probably yesterday."

That process ended with Ward staying on the sideline as Ohio State finished its season 12-2.

Ward's jersey did get on the field for one play, with cornerback Marcus Williamson swapping out his No. 21 for Ward's No. 12 so that he and Parris Campbell (also No. 21) could be on the field together on a punt.

That was the last time we saw "No. 12, Ward" on the field for the Buckeyes, but it won't be the lasting impact he made on the program.

"He's part of our Ohio State legacy," Coombs said. "He loves his team. Otherwise why would he spend the entire month of December practicing, helping these kids get ready, studying film? He didn't go off and get ready for the draft. He helped Ohio State win a game, and that's important."