Spring game recap and observations
COVER PHOTO: Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles checks out the scoreboard along the sideline during the first half of the 2024 spring game. Picture by Sam Fahmi/ Columbus Wired.
The Ohio State football team completed their 2024 spring practices with the annual spring game on Saturday in front of 80,012 at Ohio Stadium and, as always, there were a few takeaways from the event. Some good, some not so much. But that’s to be expected for a mid-year tune up.
The Scarlet (offense) “won”, 34-33, even though the Gray (defense) looked to be the “winner”, thanks to a fairly smothering defense that didn’t allow a touchdown until the second half.
Other spring practice takeaways that seemed to bolster the hype surrounding true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah “J.J.” Smith and true freshman quarterback Julian Sayin didn’t necessarily play out on the field as some in Buckeye Nation would have liked to have seen.
OFFENSE
Getting the first set of offensive first-team reps under center was fifth-year Kansas State transfer Will Howard, while third-year Devin Brown was in there for the second set of first-team reps.
However, it was second-year Lincoln Kienholz that was technically the second quarterback to play when the offense took the field on their second possession. But that was as the first QB for the second-team. True freshman Alabama transfer Julian Sayin was the second, second-team QB and fellow true freshman Prentiss “Air” Noland was the last scholarship QB to take the field.
Both Sayin and Kienholz took the most snaps, primarily as the only QB’s to play most of the second half. Both went 10-of-17 with Sayin leading the team with 85 passing yards while Kienholz was second with 71 yards. Howard finished second with 77 passing yards, going 9-of-13 while both Brown and Noland went 5-of-7. Brown had 66 yards through the air and Noland threw for 47.
Brown was the only one to toss a touchdown, though, which was within the 10-yard line over the middle to second-year walk-on receiver Brennen Schramm.
The youngsters looked like youngsters, with Kienholz, Sayin and Noland all throwing interceptions. Kienholz threw two while Noland and Sayin each tossed one. Sayin was picked off by a fellow true freshman, safety Jaylen McClain, and he also took the most “sacks”, getting tagged for three. Kienholz took two while Howard took one. Actual tackling of the quarterback wasn’t allowed, which has been per the usual for the past several years.
Noland rushed for the most yards by a QB and the second-most on the team with 42 while Brown had three carries for 24 yards. Kienholz finished with four rushes for negative five yards, Sayin had five runs for -9 yards and Howard’s one carry was the six-yard sack he took.
Head coach Ryan Day said he’s nowhere near naming a starter.
“I wouldn’t say that I’m going to make any declarations right now,” he said with a shrug. “But we’ll look at the film and see what it looks like and decide where to go from there.”
Coming in as nearly every recruiting service’s number one overall ranked player in the country, Smith earned extremely high praise from both coaches and players alike throughout spring drills, popping eyeballs and raising eyebrows since virtually the first day he suited up. He lost his black stripe and officially became a Buckeye after only their fourth practice on March 21.
However, the dazzling one-handed catches that he put on for display in more than one practice didn’t pan out in the game as he was limited to two catches for a total of 12 yards, both being simple six-yard curl routes.
Instead, it was fourth-year returning starter Emeka Egbuka who awed the crowd with an impressive one-handed catch along the sideline. He finished tied for the team lead with four catches and had 47 yards. Third-year walk-on David Adolph also had four catches and led all receivers with 50 yards. Sophomore Carnell Tate had one catch for five yards.
Fourth-year running back TreVeyon Henderson got the start with third-year Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins was second in line. Third-year walk-on T.C. Caffey, and true freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon all saw solid action throughout the second half with all three scoring rushing touchdowns.
Peoples was the first RB on the field for the second team unit while Caffey was the fourth man up.
The fifth man up, Williams-Dixon, led all RB’s with 11 carries for 75 yards and Peoples was close behind with 10 totes for 36 yards. Caffey ended with five runs for 16 yards.
Henderson and Judkins both had four carries as Judkins finished with 31 yards and Henderson had 18. Henderson had two receptions for nine yards and Judkins caught one ball for five yards.
Third-year Dallan Hayden did not play as it’s being rumored he’s going to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday and the fact he didn’t see any action is a very good indication the rumors are true.
Three positions on the offensive line seem to be set with Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson and Josh Fryar getting all the first-team practice reps as well as making the start in the game at left tackle, left guard and right tackle, respectively.
When asked specifically about Fryar, Day said he feels Fryar is one of the best five.
“We know that Josh can play right tackle and he’s done that before but we want to find the best five (and) we feel that Josh is one of our best five,” Day said. “If we can figure that part of it out, that would be great. He has played a little bit of guard but he’s also played tackle so the goal is to find our best five.”
The indecision as to who will get the official start come the fall is currently at center and right guard. Fifth-year Seth McLaughlin got the start at center on Saturday while third-year Carson Hinzman appeared with the first-team at right guard.
But there were also situations where Hinzman played at center and third-year Tegra Tshabola was at right guard.
Day said he doesn’t feel he’s “there right now” when it comes to deciding on the first five.
“Got to watch this film (from today), then go back (and) evaluate the entire spring and then kind of see where to go from there.”
Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said there will probably be several hogmollies getting a chance to eat in the fall because of the possibility of playing more games due to the new 12-team playoff format.
“You’re not going to play a 16-or-17-game season with just five guys, you know? You really have to develop your depth there,” he said. “There’s going to be a number two center that’s going to play a lot of football, there’s going to be a number two guard whether it’s on either side of the ball, there’s going to be a third tackle that’s going to get tested. In this new playoff format, you really have to think that way. You’re not looking for five starters, you’re really looking for 10 starters.”
DEFENSE
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ crew look like they’re going to be even nastier than they were last year.
After guiding the Buckeyes to nationally ranked top-three finishes last season in four categories including passing yards allowed (1st, 145.9 per game), passing efficiency defense (2nd, 99.21 efficiency), scoring (2nd, 11.2/gm) and total defense (3rd, 265.4/gm), the Silver Bullets looked like they were simply toying with the offense during the practices.
Knowles said his defensive backs have definitely bought into his philosophy and continue to show why they should be considered “BIA”, Best In America.
“They’ve taken that spirit (and) it’s a competitive spirit,” he said. “It’s an expectation now and it doesn’t matter who we’re going against, they view it as a standard so that was good to see in the first half.”
All game long, they were swapping in and out of different packages with multiple guys getting first-and-second team looks. The defensive line saw a bevy of different dudes get into the game with defensive ends J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer and tackles Tyliek Williams and Ty Hamilton getting the start.
Also seeing meaningful minutes were third-year tackle Hero Kanu, second-year tackles Kayden McDonald and Jason Moore, and fifth-year end Mitchell Melton as well as true freshman phenom end, Eddrick Houston.
Melton battled injuries in 2021 and 2022 but came back last season healthier and looks to be a guy who will get solid reps as Sawyer’s backup. He tallied four tackles including a 12-yard sack. Kanu had two tackles including one sack for seven yards while Moore two tackles that both went for-loss: a half tackle he teamed up with former Michigan linebacker, Joey Velazquez, for a one-yard loss and also had a nine-yard sack. McDonald had two tackles.
Houston played a majority of the second half and flashed hard with six tackles including a four-yard sack.
Also flashing at the linebacker spots were third-years Sonny Styles, C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers. Hicks and Styles played with the first-team along with fifth-year Cody Simon and Styles came in during certain packages to either play against the run or guard the tight end in pass coverage.
Hicks led all defenders with eight tackles while Styles tied-for third with six. Powers played primarily in the second half and ended with five tackles while Simon’s action was limited primarily to the first half and had one.
In the secondary, fourth-year Denzel Burke and third-year Davison Igbinosun got the start as the outside cornerbacks while fourth-year Jordan Hancock got the start as the slot cover-corner. Second-year Alabama transfer Caleb Downs started at the bandit safety while second-year Jayden Bonsu got the nod as the adjuster.
Igbinosun had three tackles and a pass breakup while Burke had one tackle. Bonsu had five tackles while Downs finished with three.
Several second-and-third-teamers flashed, including third-years Brenten “Inky” Jones and Diante Griffin, who both had interceptions. Jones (a safety) led all defensive backs with seven tackles and picked off one of Kienholz’s passes, which was an impressive toe tapper along the sideline. He also had a tackle for a two-yard loss.
Griffin (cornerback) finalized all of the scoring by intercepting Noland at the end of the game and returning it 29 yards for the three-point score. He finished with three tackles and one pass breakup.
Second-year CB’s Calvin Simpson-Hunt and Jermaine Mathews, Jr. as well as true freshman CB Aaron Scott, Jr. all flashed, getting their reps with the second and third teams.
Scott tied Styles and Houston with six tackles and led the team with two pass breakups. Simpson-Hunt and Mathews both had four tackles while Simpson-Hunt had a pick and Mathews had a two-yard tackle for-loss.
Fifth-year Lathan Ransom dressed but did not play. Day stated after their eighth practice on March 30 that they were limiting Ransom this spring for precautionary measures due to the non-contact, Lisfranc foot injury he suffered against Wisconsin on Oct. 28.
OBSERVATIONS
While Ransom dressed but didn’t play, others were observed either in their uniforms without pads or were simply clad completely in their civvies: fifth-year linebacker Kourt Williams, fifth-year safety Ja’Had Carter, fourth-year DB Lorenzo Styles, Jr., second-year WR Brandon Inniss and second-year offensive lineman Miles Walker.
While all of their injuries haven’t been specified by Day - and Williams, Carter and Walker did not have noticeable casts or slings - Williams was out all last season with a torn ACL and Carter has battled injuries to both legs since coming to Columbus last spring. Inniss’s right leg was in a boot and he was maneuvering around on a scooter while Styles’ left arm was in a sling.
Also held out of the game as well as all of spring practices were true freshman cornerback Bryce West, true freshman linebacker Payton Pierce and sophomore safety Malik Hartford, all of whom were announced after the first practice that they would not partake in any spring activities.
The team will reconvene in early August for the beginning of fall camp. Until then, all eyes will be on the transfer portal which opens on Tuesday the 16th and will remain open until midnight on May 1.