As we get closer to April, many of the teams in the Big Ten have begun their spring practice regimens which usually culminates in the spring game. This year not all programs have announced a date and time for a spring game, most likely due to the ongoing pandemic.
That being said, we are going to take a look at each school before their spring game and review some of the questions they are facing. For the programs that haven’t announced a date and time yet, they might be last on this series unless news breaks stating otherwise.
To kick off our Spring Series we will focus on the program whose spring game occurs the earliest, and that happens to be the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State: Spring Game, April 17th
Ohio State enters the 2021 season as the defending conference champions and looking to make another run at a national title. The Buckeyes certainly will have plenty of talent to work with, whether it’s proven or unproven, but here are a few questions the program needs to work on answering before the season opener on September 2nd against Minnesota.
It’s All About The Quarterback
Justin Fields is off to the NFL after having been the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes the past two years. Replacing a player who is seen by draft experts as a top ten or top five draft prospect is not easily accomplished, but Ryan Day has given himself some impressive options to work with. The battle of who will be the starting QB on opening night may be a two man race in the minds of some, but honestly has three contenders for the position.
Former 5-star and 4-star recruits CJ Stroud and Jack Miller are redshirt freshman who are seen as the leading candidates for the position, as both return to the program with a year under their belt to learn the offense. Stroud’s senior year at Rancho Cucamonga High School in California saw him throw for 3,878 yards with 47 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. Miller on the other hand saw only seven games his senior year at Chaparral High School in Arizona due to a shoulder injury, but still amassed 1,621 yards with 15 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.
Unfortunately, neither player saw a significant amount of live reps last season which could have helped indicate a leader heading into spring camp, but Day and his staff will have a full off-season this year to evaluate who appears best able to handle the role.
The reason though this should be viewed as a three man race is the presence of 5-star and true freshman, Kyle McCord. The true freshman from St. Joseph’s Prep in Pennsylvania comes to the Buckeyes after finishing an excellent high school career which saw him set league records with 6,887 career passing yards, and 88 touchdown passes.
We have seen recently at programs across the country, even some of the premier programs like Clemson and Alabama, coaches handing the reigns of the offense to a true freshman if they show they can handle the job. If McCord is able to convince the Ohio State coaching staff he is the best option of the three in spring and fall camp, don’t be surprised if he takes the field for them on September 2nd.
Log Jam At Running Back
This is one of those “good problems” you hear coaches talk about, but even good problems can cause headaches in the season if you don’t iron out roles.
In the lead up to and early in the 2020 season, the Buckeyes felt they had two solid options at running back with Master Teague and Trey Sermon. The early returns however were not what Ohio State expected or needed, and it kept the offense from really taking off with a balanced attack until Sermon stepped up his game and became the featured back.
Now Ohio State is looking to replace Sermon who is leaving for the NFL, and currently has six contenders for his role. Master Teague, Steele Chambers, Miyan Williams, and Marcus Crowley are your returning players at the position, but they are joined by incoming freshman 5-star TreVeyon Henderson and 4-star Evan Pryor who are also looking to show they should see immediate playing time.
Ohio State could decide to try and implement a multi-back system again, but in a recent press conference with Tony Alfrod, it seems that if any one of those players steps up and shows they are the feature back for the season they will roll with that guy. All six of these players have the talent to start at the collegiate level, but when spring camp ends don’t be surprised if one or more of those players are looking elsewhere to prove they can play.
Secondary Is Primary
If you are a Buckeye fan you already know the issues the Buckeyes had on defense last year, especially in the secondary.
Senior cornerback Shaun Wade was supposed to be one of the premier corners in the country, but his move from slot to outside didn’t work out as well as hoped. Defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, who was in his first year leading the defense, was tasked with having to rely on a group of inexperienced players to fill the other corner and safety positions.
The secondary taking a step back from its 2019 form was not a surprise with the key losses it suffered due to the NFL draft, but finishing 2nd in pass defense in 2019 to 122nd in 2020 is a drop that begs for correction.
There has been no talk of moving away from the single high safety look OSU loves to run, and to do so would be foolish. However, Ohio State needs to find the right personnel on the back end of the defense to make it work. Whether the Buckeyes rely on mostly the same group as last year but with more experience under their belt, or use any of the five incoming freshmen to improve the secondary remains to be seen, but the spring game on April 17th may present us with our first look into how the coaching staff plans to address it.