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Vo. 1, No. 27
This week in Ohio State football, it’s time to preview spring practice.
Will this be the most intriguing spring the Buckeyes have ever had?
I don’t think we can rule it out.
I’ve seen a few rebuilds since I started following the Buckeyes (professionally in 2005 and personally long before that), but this is unique because of how many new faces will be vying for playing time.
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Yes, Ohio State lost 11 starters on offense and defense, but that is only part of the story.
The Buckeyes also saw 31 players transfer out, including a handful who were highly rated recruits who were expected to be competing for playing time this month and beyond.
READ MORE: Ryan Day's three-pronged plan for preparing for 2026: Recruit, retain and refill as necessary
A few months ago, we might have been excited to see what Aaron Scott Jr., Faheem Delane, Mylan Graham, Quincy Porter and others might look like a the top of the depth chart this spring, but we’ll never know because those guys all transferred out over the winter.
The defensive line room also lost a lot of young players, though I doubt any of them would have played this season.
In their place, Ohio State added more than a dozen players from the transfer portal, including a few who seem to be likely starters and a few more who figure to backfill the spots that were being held by young players with a lot of potential.
Here are the open jobs:
Right guard
Tight end (top two)
Z receiver (a.k.a. flanker)
Middle linebacker
Weakside linebacker
Cornerback
Nickel
Strong safety
Nose tackle
3-Technique defensive tackle
Weaks-side end
Eleven starters return, and nearly every open spot figures to have a transfer competing with a highly recruited young player.
Members of the 2026 recruiting class will also be in the mix, though I’m not sure how likely any of them will be able to break into the two-deep aside from a certain son of a former Bengal.
What are you most interested in seeing this spring?
Comment or drop me a message!
I see 2 over-arching themes of the offseason
Can the offense return to being elite with a more experienced quarterback and offensive line?
What will another rebuilt defense look like?
I think they’ll be OK on the defensive line even because they have a handful of veterans who have played returning and added transfers John Walker at nose guard, James Smith at 3-technique and Qua Russaw on the edge, but the back seven has a lot of question marks.
Chief among them is what happens when you no longer have those three unique, versatile guys in Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese?
They were not only great talents but practically two players in one (or more) which granted a lot of freedom to coordinator Matt Patricia to experiment with his scheme. (If he did enough late in the season is a debate for another time.)
The loss of Lorenzo Styles Jr. (who is apparently very fast) at nickel should not be overlooked, either, as his injury in the Cotton Bowl seemed to remove some of the scheme diversity against Miami.
What will Ohio State spring practice look like?
The Buckeyes will have two practices next week then take a week off for spring break.
They’ll get back to work March 24. The spring game is scheduled for April 18.
The first two practices Tuesday and Thursday will include viewing windows for the media, and we’re scheduled to talk to Ryan Day on Tuesday and then Julian Sayin and Kenyatta Jackson on Thursday after practice.
(That means you can look for those interviews at my YouTube page.)
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Here’s what else went on this past week:
To start the week, I was a guest on the Bill and Doug Show discussing — you guessed it — spring football.
Right now I am in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, so don’t miss that coverage — beginning with a win over Indiana on Thursday.
I also covered girls (St. Henry) and boys (Troy Christian and Fort Recovery) basketball high school tournament games this week and kept feeding the Men’s Journal content machine with stories on Hunter Greene, new Playstation Plus games and the possibility the Bengals play in Spain this fall.
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