2026 Spring Practice

 

Spring practice is well under way for the 2026 version of the Ohio State Buckeyes, 2 ½ months after a disappointing end to last season in the CFP quarterfinals.

                The Buckeyes began the offseason upgrading the staff with new coordinators on offense and special teams and picking up nearly twenty players through the transfer portal, adding a new mix to the roster. Arthur Smith has been brought in as the new offensive coordinator, coming back to the college ranks after a stint as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Smith hopes to elevate the Ohio State offense coming off their second-lowest scoring season under Ryan Day. Smith has built productive rushing attacks in his previous jobs, but will have to deal this spring working without starting RB Bo Jackson and backup Isaiah West are recovering from shoulder procedures, so the coming weeks should allow him to put in new concepts or other ideas to boost a ground game that was a paltry 51^st last year in the FBS at 4.55 yards per carry.  Of course, the major problem, especially in the two losses at the end of the year, was the offensive line. Fortunately, the Buckeyes will retain four of their five offensive linemen, but in addition to better run production, the challenge is to find a fix for the issues in pass protection that emerged late last year. After allowing just six sacks over the regular season, the Buckeyes surrendered five each in losses in the Big Ten championship game and College Football Playoff, contributing to the early exit in the quarterfinals. Left tackle Austin Siereveld made six starts at left guard in 2024 and would be a candidate to return to the interior. Right tackle Phillip Daniels is another option to move inside at right guard, the lone vacant starting spot after Tegra Tshabola transferred to Kentucky. Redshirt sophomore tackle Ian Moore looks like a promising prospect, and with a good spring practice, could cement a starting role. Tavien St. Clair will be the backup for Julian Sayin, as prior backup Lincoln Keinholz transferred to Louisville. The Buckeyes picked up junior QB Justyn Martin in the transfer portal from Maryland. Of course, the best receiver in the country, junior Jeremiah Smith returns along with experienced Brandon Innis and David Adolph, and the Buckeyes return leading rusher, sophomore Bo Jackson, along with Isaiah West and Anthony Rohers. TEs Max Klare and Will Kacmarek have departed, but the additions of Hunter Welching and Mason Williams will help to offset those losses. Welching had a breakout year at Northwestern in 2025 that ended with 28 receptions for 296 yards and two touchdowns and Williams follows Kacmarek as the second Ohio University tight end in three years to come to Ohio State.

Defensive lineman Kenyatta Jackson Jr. decided to stay at Ohio State for another year, but the loss of top performers like Caden Curry, Kaden McDonald, and C.J. Hicks meant the Buckeyes needed to dip in the transfer portal. This resulted in a couple of good finds. James Smith, from Alabama, was widely considered to be the top defensive lineman in the portal and John Walker, who started at DT at Central Florida last year. But, eight backup defensive linemen entered the portal, so depth could be a concern here. Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles are off to the NFL, so the defense will welcome Wisconsin transfer Christian Allegro and Alabama transfer Qua Russaw. They look to join returnees Payton Pierce and Riley Pettijohn at the linebacker positions. Jermaine Matthews Jr. and Devin Sanchez are the most experienced returnees in the defensive backfield, as Caleb Downs, Davison Igbinosun and Sonny Styles are departed and Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West entered the portal. Freshman Georgia transfer Dominick Kelly looks promising. Earl Little Jr. from Florida State and Terry Moore from Duke will attempt to step in for Downs. 

 

While Joe McGuire returns as their punter, the Buckeyes needed both a kicker and long snapper to replace Jayden Fielding and John Ferlmann. They brought in two through the portal with Connor Hawkins, a kicker from Baylor who was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection last fall, and Dalton Riggs, a long snapper from Central Florida.

 

Spring practice culminates in the annual spring game in the ‘Shoe April 18.

MY THOUGHTS.....2025 season

 

The 2025 Ohio State football season was one of peaks and valleys.  Entering as the defending national champions and seeming primed for a run to win a second straight title, the Buckeyes, who were ranked at the top of the polls from the second week of the season, crashed and burned late and ended the season on a two-game losing streak. 

                The peaks included sophomore and brand-new starting quarterback Julian Sayin, who emerged as a Heisman candidate, ultimately finishing as a Heisman finalist.  Sayin ended up having one of the highest QB efficiency rating in college football, throwing for over 3600 yards and 32 touchdowns against only eight interceptions.  Jeremiah Smith entered the season as one of the best receivers in the country and continued that trend, leading the way with 87 receptions for 1243 yards and twelve touchdowns.  Carnell Tate emerged as the perfect complement to Smith, with 51 receptions for 875 yards and nine scores.  Purdue transfer TE Max Klare added a different option to the passing attack and delivered 43 receptions for 448 yards and two scores and Brandon Innis proved to be a viable target with 36 catches for 271 yards and three scores.  On the defensive side, Arvell Reese burst on the scene as he made plays all over the field in racking up 69 tackles, good for second on the team,  Sonny Styles led the defense with 82 tackles.  Caleb Downs picked up where he left off in 2024 as a ball-hawking defensive back, with 68 tackles and two interceptions, while Caden Curry and Kayden McDonald made important contributions on the defensive line with 66 and 65 tackles respectively.  However, there were pitfalls, notably on the offensive line.  Although newcomer Bo Jackson managed over 1000 yards and C.J. Donaldson showed his tough inside running, the offensive line was never able to consistently generate success in their run blocking efforts and fell apart the last two games, giving up ten sacks in those two games.  The defense was rock solid nearly the entire season, rarely giving up more than one touchdown per game, but were unable to get off the field at critical times against Indiana and Miami.

                The transfer portal has now opened and as of this writing, nine players have announced their intention to enter, starting with WR Bryson Rodgers announcement on Dec 18.  TE Jelani Thurman followed shortly after the conclusion of the Cotton Bowl, while New Years Day witnessed the decisions by QB Lincoln Kienholz, RB Sam Dixon, RB James Peoples, WR Damrion Witten, CB Bryce West and defensive linemen C.J. Hicks, Dominic Kirks and Logan George.  In addition, outstanding defensive back Caleb Downs will declare for the NFL draft.  As of this writing, Ohio State is hoping to get the top linebacker in the transfer portal to come here; Pittsburgh’s Rasheem Biles, who was born and raised in Columbus.

                Looking to next season, not only will there be challenges in improving offensive line play, but the departure of Brian Hartline leaves quite a void to be filled on the coaching staff.  The Buckeyes pay a visit to Austin to play Texas the second game and have tough road games at Indiana and at USC, while Oregon and Michigan come to town.  So, the schedule is not an easy one.  But the 2025 Buckeyes went further than I thought they would.  At the beginning of the season, I figured they would go 9-3 after losing many experienced players off their national championship team.  But these Buckeyes made an impressive run through the regular season.  They gutted out an opening win against a top-ranked Texas team with many new faces in the lineup and ended the regular season dominating Michigan on their home field.  They defeated seven teams that were in bowls and thanks to new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, rebuilt one of the best defenses in 2024 and made it even better in 2025, while Julian Sayin has developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the nation with one of the best receiving corps anywhere.  So, the team has quite a few exciting, proven players coming back in 2026.

2025 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2)(9-1)

14          Texas                               7

70          Grambling State             0

37          Ohio University              9

24          at Washington                 6

42          Minnesota                         3

34          at Illinois                           16

34          at Wisconsin                    0

38          Penn State                        14

34          at Purdue                          10

48          UCLA                                   10

42          Rutgers                                9

27          at Michigan                       9

10          Indiana                              13 (B1G Championship)

14          Miami                                 24 (Cotton Bowl: CFP Quarterfinal)

MY THOUGHTS.....Miami

 

The issues that cropped up during the B1G Championship game loos to Indiana reared their ugly head once again in Dallas as the Ohio State Buckeyes crashed and burned against the Miami Hurricanes, ending their season.

                The Buckeyes fell into an early hole they were unable to get out of.  The offensive line issues were completely exposed as Julian Sayin was sacked five times and threw two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.  The well-coached Miami defense came in with a plan and executed that plan, holding the Ohio State offense to a paltry 1.88 yards per carry on the ground and a sad 45 total yards rushing.  The sad rushing attack managed a mere two runs over ten yards.  Bo Jackson had 55 yards on the ground, and the lone rushing touchdown and C.J. Donaldson managed a couple of decent runs, gaining 31 yards.  Sayin was picked one other time as he ended up with 287 yards through the air and a touchdown throw to Jeremiah Smith.  Smith led the receiving effort with seven catches for 157 yards, perhaps the only bright spot in this dismal performance. 

                The Ohio State defense played well at times but had trouble getting off the field in key third-down situations, particularly in the fourth quarter when a stop could’ve gotten the offense the ball back with a decent chance to pull the game out.  Davison Igbinosun led the defensive effort with ten tackles, while Caleb Downs and Kayden McDonald each had eight.  Eddrick Houston also played well, garnering two sacks and so did Sonny Styles, with two tackles for loss including a sack.

                The Buckeyes thus return home after concluding their season with a 12-2 record. 

CFP Quarterfinal: Cotton Bowl: Ohio State v Miami

Bowl Games

MY THOUGHTS...B1G Championship

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes crashed and burned in Indianapolis as terrible playcalling in the red zone, coupled with an inspired Indiana team, derailed their hopes of a conference title.  The Buckeyes settled for a field goal once in the red zone, missed a chip-shot field goal that would’ve tied the score, and were stopped on fourth down inside the five-yard line.  The offensive line was exposed as the Buckeyes netted a mere 58 yards on the ground and gave up five sacks after giving up only six in the previous 12 games.  Bo Jackson led the way with 83 yards rushing; the sacks of Sayin reduced the total rushing yardage.  Sayin went 21 for 29 for 258 yards and a touchdown pass to Carnell Tate.  For the second straight week, Sayin threw an early pick which resulted in a field goal; this time proving to be the margin in the game.  The lone bright spot in the offense was WR Jeremiah Smith, with eight receptions for 144 yards and Carnell Tate had a good game as well with four catches for 45 yards and the touchdown. 

                The defense did their best to counter the lethargic offense and terrible play calls as Sonny Styles led the way with 12 tackles.  Caden Curry did his best to wreck havoc, getting two sacks and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. turned in another sack.  Play maker Arvell Reese was limited to a single tackle, but Caleb Downs played an efficient game in the secondary, with eight tackles. 

                Congratulations are in store for Indiana as they defeated Ohio State for the first time since October 8, 1988 and won their first conference title since 1967.  Both Indiana and Ohio State should get first-round byes in the college football playoff matchups slated to come out later today.

B1G Championship: Ohio State v Indiana