2021 Spring Practice

 

The Ohio State football team has gathered for spring drills, coming off an unusual, shortened season which saw them win their fourth consecutive B1G title and reach the National Championship Game.  Ohio State had only three spring practices last year before the coronavirus pandemic shut down everything.  This year, the Buckeyes are looking forward to getting back in pads this week. 

                Of course, much of the focus will be on the quarterback position, given that do-it-all Justin Fields has taken his talents to the next level.  C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller, and Kyle McCord have shared reps equally thus far and have shown encouraging signs.  Both Miller and Stroud, who will be sophomores, saw game action.  Even though neither threw a pass, both showed very good mobility as each rushed for a touchdown.  Joining them is freshman Kyle McCord, a five-star recruit out of Philadelphia, rated by many recruiting services as the number 3 quarterback recruit in the country.  There also figures to be a battle over who will back up TE Jeremy Ruckert and line up opposite him in the double-TE setup.  Sophomore Cade Stover is the favorite to step in right away, but he’ll face some spirited competition from fifth-year senior Corey Rau, senior Mitch Rossi, and redshirt freshman Joe Royer.  The interior of the offensive line will be up for grabs this spring as LG Harry Miller will probably be held out as he recovers from injury.  Miller is likely to switch to center, leaving the guard positions open for sophomore Paris Johnson Jr., juniors Matthew Jones and Dawand Jones, and redshirt freshman Luke Wypler.  With the return of senior WR Chris Olave, the Buckeyes have the best receiver group anywhere in the country.  Of the newcomers last year, Jaxson Smith-Njigba seems the most likely to break out in 2021 as a third option in the passing game to Olave and Garrett Wilson.  Jameson Williams, probably the fastest on the team, will be right there in the rotation as well. 

The missed practice time in the spring last year due to the pandemic clearly hurt on the defensive side of the ball.  The Buckeyes allowed more than 300 passing yards per game and Alabama racked up 621 yards of total offense against them in the national championship game. 

Junior DE Zach Harrison will be looking to assume a leadership role on a defensive line undergoing some changes and Haskell Garrett will be back to anchor the interior part of the line, along with Javontae Jean-Baptise and Tyler Friday.  Also, at DT will be Antwuan Jackson and Taron Vincent.  Jackson saw plenty of action as backup to Garrett and Tommy Togiai, while Vincent will be looking to shake of the injuries that have plagued him since his arrival in 2018.  The linebacking corps will miss Pete Werner and Baron Browning, but fortunately, the guys behind them have plenty of experience.  Teradja Mitchell, Dallas Gant, K’Vaughan Pope and Craig Young have been with the program for three years now and are the favorites to grab starting positions amongst the linebackers.  The defensive backfield will enjoy the return of Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown, working his way back from a torn Achilles.  Tyreke Johnson has a huge opportunity to lock down one of the starting CB spots opposite Banks.  Ronnie Hickman can play anywhere in the secondary and highly touted recruits Jakailin Johnson and Jordan Hancock will arrive either during the spring or for the start of pre-season practice in August. 

The spring practices resumed March 19 after a brief pause due to COVID cases and the spring game is scheduled for April 17.