2023 Spring observations

 

Ohio State’s spring practice was concluded with annual Scarlet-Grey tilt in the ‘Shoe April 15.  Sunny skies and 80 degrees awaited the folks who attended and a decent crowd was on hand to see the Grey (defense) defeat the Scarlet (offense) 40-31 . 

The quarterback competition between junior Kyle McCord and freshman Devin Brown remains in flux, mainly since Brown was held out of the scrimmage with a hand injury and McCord got off to a rough start.  McCord, however, improved as the day went on and managed to hit on several deep throws.  Tristan Gebbia, a transfer from Oregon State and incoming freshman Lincoln Keinholz looked good in their limited appearances.  TreVeyon Henderson sat out, making his recovery from a nagging foot   injury that limited his production last year, and Miyan Williams saw limited time.  This led the way for Chip Trayanum to step up and he responded with an outstanding spring, showing his explosiveness at RB and earning his way into the RB rotation.  Alas, we didn’t see too much of sophomore Dallan Hayden who saw quite a bit of action near the end of last season, so that coulod lead to Hayden entering the transfer portal.  We saw quite a bit of Carnell Tate and Noah Rogers as they attempt to work their way into the rotation at WR.  Marvin Harrison Jr. may start in the slot position and Emeka Egbuka move over into Harrison’s spot.  Tate and Rogers showed good hands and route running and should see significant playing time this fall.  Cade Stover, Joe Royer and Gee Scott all turned in good performances in the spring at TE and while Stover is the clear starter, it is clear all three will have a role in the offense this year.  The offensive line is still a bit unsettled, however Josh Fryer had a good spring at LT and Dovovan Jackson picked up where he left off last year at LG.  Carson Hinzman looks like the frontrunner to start at center, but Jakob James should be full-go after missing the spring and will get a turn there as well as Victor Cutler Jr.  Cutler had reps with the first-team offense during the spring.   Matt Jones is back after starting at RG last season and three linemen are still battling for the starting job at RT.  Tegra Tshbola had a slight edge over Zen Michalski, but neither looked very sharp on Saturday.  That may lead to Miles Walker getting some playing time at that position.

The defense played better than I expected, which I’m sure accounted for McCord’s tough start.  Sonny Styles made a couple of touchdown-saving plays from his SS position.  With JT Tuimoloau sitting out, Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson got a chance to impress at DE and both had solid games.  Mike Hall and Ty Hamilton are entrenched at DT, but Tyleik Williams and Jaden McKenzie both showed they are ready for more playing time as both got into the offensive backfield on several occasions.  Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers did not play in the spring game, but C. J. Hicks played very well in Chambers’ place and Cody Simon will see the field more in 2023.  Among the defensive backs, I thought Davison Igbinosun had the best game of any “newcomer” to the team.  He made plays all over the field and has a real nose for the ball.  He and Jordan Hancock will compete for the CB position opposite Denzel Burke.  Sonny Styles made his great defensive play and Lathan Ransom looks like he’s improved at SS. 

Jayden Fielding and Parker Lewis are in a stiff competition to take the place of the departed Noah Ruggles at kicker and Jesse Mirco is the only punter on the roster.  The coaching staff may look to add a walk-on punter as his backup or look to the transfer portal.

So, that’s it until summer workouts and practice begin in August.