2018 Spring Practice Game

The 2018 Ohio State spring practice concluded with the annual Scarlet-Grey scrimmage in the ‘Shoe on Saturday.  The game time was pushed back two hours due to the weather forecast (which turned out to be an unnecessary precaution) and there was a “running clock” with shortened eight-minute quarters in the second half.

Despite the strange adjustments, it turned out to quite entertaining and a showcase for the talents of Dwayne Haskins, Joe Burrow, and Tate Martell at quarterback.  All three of them had their moments to shine and none of them put any distance from the others in the battle to secure the starting quarterback position, 20 weeks from the season opener against Oregon State.  Dwayne Haskins showed the rifle arm that he did all of last year, while Tate Martell showed Braxton Miller-like elusiveness while playing mostly against the defensive starters on the Scarlet, and Joe Burrow had the best game statically among the three, going 15 for 22 for 238 yards and two touchdowns.  Burrow seems to be the most improved of the three as I noticed better accuracy and throwing motion from him.  J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber saw limited action and each got one carry; Dobbins for a loss.  Weber, however, busted his lone carry for 63 yards, reminiscent of his long touchdown run in last year’s win over Michigan State.  Instead, the coaches wanted to give more looks to junior Demario McCall and freshman Master Teague and they didn’t disappoint.  McCall showed his versatility playing mostly H-back, as he hauled in 11 passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns, both coming on long passes from Burrow.  Master Teague showed pretty good power running with 73 yards on 14 carries.  Teague will figure to be a handful for any defense in short-yardage situations.  Of course, McCall would join a receiving unit that figures to be the most talented in quite a few years.  All of the receivers had a good day and ran crisp routes.  Benjamin Victor hauled in five catches for 91 yards, including a great grab from Haskins while being covered pretty well that resulted in a touchdown.  Parris Campbell picked up where he left off with four receptions for 40 yards.  Luke Farrell and Austin Mack started the game and each had one reception.  Malcolm Pridgeon and Demetrious Knox started in place of Michael Jordan and Branden Bowen on the offensive line and turned in a pretty good performance.  Jordan and Bowen should be fully recovered from their injuries in August.  I also noticed pretty good play from the starting tackles Isaiah Prince and Thayer Munford as well as from fifth-year senior Brady Taylor and redshirt freshman Josh Myers, who are locked in a tight battle for center.

Defensively, the Buckeyes look to be on track with having improved play in the secondary.  They continued with the three-man rotation and we saw a lot of Kendall Sheffield and Damon Arnette.  Sheffield, I noticed, has improved a bit on his deep coverage.  Jeffrey Okudah, also a part of that rotation, unfortunately, had to sit out as he continues to rehab from his offseason shoulder surgery.  Redshirt freshman Shaun Wade had a good game, collecting the only turnover of the game, an interception of Martell late in the game.  Isaiah Pryor and Jahsen Wint each showed a nose for the ball as they vie to replace the departed Damon Webb at free safety.  Linebacker has been a free-for-all in the spring and I saw Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard make some impressive plays.  Tuf Borland, who figures to be one of the starters, sat out with an injury.  The defensive line will be the strength of this unit with Nick Bosa, Dre’Mont Jones, Chase Young, and Robert Landers all kicking it up a notch this spring and figure to be a nightmare for any opposing offensive line.

Although there is no competition for kicker, fifth-year senior Sean Nurenberger showed he is still reliable, connecting on kicks of 40, 42, 47, and 52 yards despite a tricky wind.

So, the Buckeyes take a break and will reconvene the first week of August with quite a few positions, especially at quarterback, yet to be settled.  It will be an interesting and fun time watching who will emerge at some of these positions on September 1 when they take the field for the first time.

S1           Oregon State

S8           Rutgers

S15         Texas Christian (Dallas)

S22         Tulane

S29         at Penn State

O6          Indiana

O13        Minnesota

O20        at Purdue

N3          Nebraska

N10        at Michigan State

N17        at Maryland

N24        Michigan