2015 Spring Practice for the DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

 

 

 

Ohio Stadium witnessed a national record turnout for a spring game at just short of 100,000 (99,931) as the Gray defeated the Scarlet 17-14 on a sun-splashed warm spring day on Saturday.  As is the case in these scrimmages, most of the starters were limited to the first two series of the game.  Cardale Jones was 19 of 42 for 304 yards and two scores for the Gray, while Stephen Collier went 15 for 33 for 157 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions.  Both teams combined for 75 pass attempts against just 29 runs, as per the game plan, and combined for 525 total yards.

 

It's not a secret replacing Devin Smith was one of the biggest question marks surrounding Ohio State in 2015 and Saturday's spring game didn't give a ton of answers.  Ohio State needs to find that deep threat who strikes fear in opposing defenses. I saw receivers like Corey Smith and Parris Campbell get open downfield,  but Jones overthrew some deep balls a few times. As of now, Corey Smith would appear to be the front-runner to assume that role.  He had six catches for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He and Jones hooked up for touchdown strikes of 58 and 37 yards, respectively, and another completion that went for 48 yards.  I also noticed that his route running has improved from last year.  Jeff Greene (five catches, 56 yards) and Parris Campbell (five catches, 38 yards, TD) also had good games for the Scarlet team and so did sophomore Noah Brown with four catches for 44 yards.  While each quarterback was playing behind makeshift offensive lines, I thought each had more struggles than they should have.  Jones had a number of overthrows and Collier showed nervousness in the pocket and a tendency to throw into coverage, which resulted in three interceptions.  I noticed, however, he did settle down in the second half and played much better, as did Jones.  Coach Meyer has indicated one of his concerns is the depth on the offensive line and that seemed to play out on Saturday.  With starting center Jacoby Boren out and with tackle Taylor Decker and guard Pat Elflein limited, the offensive lines had trouble protecting Jones and Collier, leading to their sub par performances. 

The defensive side of the ball had quite a few who had impressive games.  Nick Connor, Erick Smith, and Sam Hubbard were the three I noticed the most.  Nick Connor is an incoming freshman who graduated high school early so he could come to Ohio State for spring practice.  Connor looked like he was everywhere, with seven tackles and an interception and will make a serious bid for extended playing time in 2015.  DB Erick Smith was also all over the field on Saturday with two interceptions and looks to head into fall camp as a backup to Tyvis Powell or Vonn  Bell.  Sam Hubbard also impressed me at DE, sacking Collier twice and disrupting a number of running plays.  Hubbard looks to have earned his way into the DE rotation with Tyquan Lewis, which is a welcome sign for a team trying to replace two starters on a dominant defensive line.  I was also impressed with the play of Chris Worley and Damon Webb, who garnered six tackles apiece and Gareon Conley looks to go into fall practice as the starting cornerback opposite Eli Apple.  I thought Conley had improved on his deep route coverages from a year ago.

So wraps up spring practice for 2015.  Later on this summer, I will release previews of all B1G teams culminating in my preseason preview of the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes, DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPIONS, on or around August 20.