Day after: Thoughts following Ohio State football’s spring game (2024)

Will Howard got the first series of the game, while Devin Brown was next in. Lincoln Kienholz and Julian Sayin both played in the first half, while Air Noland played in the second. It looks like Howard is ahead of Brown, but not by much. The battle will go into the fall. I’m not particularly a fan of how it’s playing out. I would have liked one of them to take the reins, but like last season, that didn’t happen. The confidence level is high this group will be fine during the year, as both Howard and Brown looked more than capable on Saturday.

Like I mentioned in my immediate post-game thoughts, this position group isn’t one where you shouldn’t have any worries. TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are one of the nations top one-two punches, if not the best, while the freshman showed they can handle the load. Depth was a question with Dallan Hayden leaving, but James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon both were impressive. Walk-on TC Caffey also can contribute if needed, this unit is rock solid.

It was hard to really give a quality assessment on this group, as there wen’t many opportunities for them to shine. Emeka Egbuka had an amazing one-handed grab, while Jeremiah Smith didn’t do anything absurd like he had done during the other practices. Carnell Tate was quiet, and Brandon Inniss was hurt, so the major expected contributors were quiet. Part of this was due to the secondary, which I’ll get to shortly, but there had to be some aspects of this unit that head coach Ryan Day didn’t want the nation to see. Even thought the talent is green, there’s tons of it and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this group have some growing pains early before they figure it out.

This unit is going to worry me until I see production on the field. Like the quarterbacks, the hope was that this group would have a solidified starting five heading into the fall, but so far that isn’t the case. Offensive line coach Justin Frye is still experimenting with the second guard as multiple players rotated. The line has to be cohesive, and with moving parts, that is hard to do. Four spots have been locked up, center with Seth McLaughlin, tackles Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar, and Donovan Jackson at guard. Count me as a bit worried and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a transfer portal addition before fall camp.

Not much to see from this group, as the main competitors for playing time didn’t do much. It’s clear that Cade Stover is going to be missed in the passing game, no one on the roster has the same skill set. Like the receivers, it’s hard to make a judgment on this unit, but I’m not overtly worried about it.

One of three groups that there aren’t any concerns, the defensive line is deep with tons of returning playmakers. Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau should terrorize opposing quarterbacks, while Tyliek Williams, Ty Hamilton and Hero Kanu will hold up the middle. Caden Curry, Eddrick Houston and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. should also play, showing the depth of this unit.

Incomplete is the best way to describe this group, as the format of the spring game doesn’t highlight what they can do. It would have been nice to see how Cody Simon, Gabe Powers, Sonny Styles, C.J. Hicks and Arvell Reese have progressed, but we will have to wait until the fall to really know how this units stacks up. It may still be the weakest link on the Buckeye defense.

The third group that you won’t see a worry out of me is the secondary. Elite talent with experience stands out in this group. Caleb Downs should be an All-American and Denzel Burke could be as well. Davison Igbinosun will surprise people, as he now had a year under his belt in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles system and will be that much better. Some of the young players stood out like Calvin Simpson-Hunt, Jermaine Mathews Jr., Jayden Bonsu, and Jaylen McClain. BIA isn’t just a slogan.