Urban Meyer's Ohio State football team left spring practice in relatively good health.
[ducks]
No, this isn't being written with the intention of jinxing anyone and their well-being. It is just fact.
Outside of the ailments that decimated Zach Smith's wide receivers corps, the overall health of the team is strong. That is a credit to strength coach Mickey Marotti and Meyer for knocking those players with a bunch of game experience off the pedal a bit as the season sat basically six months out.
As of this writing, the Buckeyes have 86 players on scholarship for this fall, one more than the NCAA-mandated 85. As we've written before, that number must be 85 by the time fall camp opens in August or the first day of class for that semester, whichever comes first.
Meyer's program is in a transitional state following a 12-1 season in 2015 that culminated with a 44-28 victory against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The bulk of the roster that tallied 50 wins the last four years is gone either to graduation or early exit to the NFL.
Meyer announced April 20 the end of defensive tackle Donovan Munger's football career because of a blood clot issued that plagued him since high school. Linebacker Kyle Berger also took a medical hardship waiver following multiple knee surgeries. That puts Ohio State at 86 scholarships. The breakdown by class now looks like this:
| Position | Seniors | Juniors | Sophomores | Redshirt-Freshmen | 2016 commitments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | – | J.T. BARRETT (R) | STEPHEN COLLIER (R) | JOE BURROW | DWAYNE HASKINS |
| RB | BRI'ONTE DUNN (R) | CURTIS SAMUEL | – | MICHAEL WEBER |
ANTONIO WILLIAMS DEMARIO MCCALL |
| WR |
COREY SMITH (R) DONTRE WILSON |
JAMES CLARK |
NOAH BROWN (R) PARRIS CAMPBELL (R) TERRY MCLAURIN (R) JOHNNIE DIXON (R) |
ALEX STUMP K.J. HILL TORRANCE GIBSON |
AUSTIN MACK BINJIMEN VICTOR |
| TE | – | MARCUS BAUGH (R) | – | A.J. ALEXANDER |
JAKE HAUSMANN LUKE FARRELL KIERRE HAWKINS |
| OL | PAT ELFLEIN (R) |
BILLY PRICE (R) EVAN LISLE (R) JAMARCO JONES |
DEMETRIUS KNOX (R) BRADY TAYLOR (R) KYLE TROUT (R) ISAIAH PRINCE |
BRANDEN BOWEN MATT BURRELL KEVIN FEDER LIAM MCCULLOUGH GRANT SCHMIDT |
TYLER GERALD JACK WOHLABAUGH MICHAEL JORDAN GAVIN CUPP MALCOLM PRIDGEON |
| DE | – |
TYQUAN LEWIS (R) JALYN HOLMES |
SAM HUBBARD (R) DARIUS SLADE (R) DYLAN THOMPSON (R) |
JASHON CORNELL DRE'MONT JONES RASHOD BERRY |
JONATHON COOPER NICK BOSA |
| DT | – |
MICHAEL HILL (R) TRACY SPRINKLE (R) |
– |
JOSHUA ALABI DAVON HAMILTON ROBERT LANDERS |
MALIK BARROW |
| LB | – |
DANTE BOOKER RAEKWON MCMILLAN CHRIS WORLEY (R) |
JEROME BAKER |
NICK CONNER JUSTIN HILLIARD |
TUF BORLAND KEANDRE JONES |
| CB | – |
GAREON CONLEY (R) DAMON WEBB |
MARSHON LATTIMORE (R) DENZEL WARD ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS |
JOSHUA NORWOOD |
KAREEM FELDER WAYNE DAVIS JORDAN FULLER RODJAY BURNS |
| S | CAM BURROWS | ERICK SMITH | MALIK HOOKER (R) | DAMON ARNETTE | JAHSEN WINT |
| K | – | SEAN NUERNBERGER | – | – | – |
| P | CAMERON JOHNSTON | – | – | – | DRUE CHRISMAN* |
| ATH | – | – | – | – | MALIK HARRISON |
| TOTAL | 6 | 18 | 17 | 21 | 24* |
*Chrisman will grayshirt in 2016.
How the Buckeyes shave off one more scholarship to meet the 85 limit is unknown, but they have all summer to do so.
Here is a position-by-position look at the health of the team as we know it with spring practice complete and summer workouts starting this week.
Quarterback
J.T. Barrett is the unquestioned starter at quarterback and completed the first spring of his Ohio State career as such last month. He is healthy, as is current backup Joe Burrow.
Reserve Stephen Collier unfortunately is not so lucky, however, after undergoing surgery for a torn ACL last week. He is "likely" out for the 2016 season, according to a school spokesman. True freshman Dwayne Haskins Jr. reports next month and is expected to compete with Burrow immediately for the right to be Barrett's understudy.
Running Back
Bri'onte Dunn and Mike Weber left spring practice the same way they entered it — in a battle to start alongside Barrett and in place of 2015 Big Ten Offensive Player and Running Back of the Year Ezekiel Elliott. Dunn did not play in the spring game due to a turned ankle, but is expected to be healthy.
Early enrollee Antonio Williams and Weber received the lion's share of the carries during the spring game (though it was more of a passing scrimmage). All purpose back Demario McCall enrolls next month and Curtis Samuel could also get some touches at the position this fall, though it is believed he will stay on the outside.
Wide Receiver
Easily the spot with the lengthiest injury report, Zach Smith's receiving corps looked completely different this spring than it did at the end of the 2015 season. Samuel missed essentially all of the workouts after a foot procedure, but Smith said he could have played in the spring game but didn't need to.
Noah Brown and Corey Smith — who received a sixth-year of eligibility from the NCAA — continued their way back from broken legs suffered last year. Zach Smith expects them to be full-go when camp opens. The same goes for Dontre Wilson, who continued to deal with a foot injury that never seems to want to go away.
Johnnie Dixon's ailing knees allowed him to work out some this spring and he even caught a few passes in the spring game. K.J. Hill played with a cast on his left wrist for the entirety of spring, but should be good to go for this summer.
Terry McLaurin, Torrance Gibson, James Clark, Parris Campbell, Alex Stump and early enrollee Austin Mack are all healthy. Binjimen Victor is too. He gets to campus in June.
Tight End
Nick Vannett graduated and is now on the west coast with the Seattle Seahawks. That leaves redshirt junior Marcus Baugh at tight end in addition to redshirt freshman A.J. Alexander. Rashod Berry moved to the defensive line this spring for Larry Johnson. The lack of numbers at the position was a concern, so the Buckeyes have reinforcements on the way. Jake Hausmann, Luke Farrell and Kierre Hawkins are all set to arrive next month. All at the position are healthy.
Offensive Line
Guard Billy Price and center Pat Elflein didn't take many reps this spring, but frankly didn't need to. Their starting spots are solidified, which left room for shuffling between Demetrius Knox, Branden Bowen, Evan Lisle, Brady Taylor, Matthew Burrell and Kyle Trout.
True freshman Michael Jordan was the talk of spring drills in Greg Studrawa's unit, as he ran with the first-string offense. Jamarco Jones earned the starting left tackle spot and Meyer said Isaiah Prince is close to doing the same on the other side of the line. The line left spring practice mostly healthy, save for redshirt freshman Kevin Feder. He had a walking boot on his foot and didn't do much.
Four more big guys enroll soon, including junior college transfer Malcolm Pridgeon.
Defensive Line
Starting defensive end Tyquan Lewis missed spring practice after shoulder surgery, but said April 7 he expects to be 100 percent by the time fall camp rolls around. Sam Hubbard has the other starting end spot locked up and is healthy.
Early enrollee Malik Barrow is really the only other injured defensive lineman in the program upon completion of spring practice. He didn't hardly do anything as he continues his rehab from a knee injury suffered his senior year at IMG Academy. As already stated, Munger's career is over due to a blood clot issue. The other big guys up front all participated in spring drills, including another early enrollee, Jonathon Cooper. Nick Bosa is on his way and Larry Johnson called it "ridiculous" how far ahead the five-star recruit is in his rehab from a partial ACL tear. The coaching staff expects him to contribute in a big way this fall.
Linebackers
Raekwon McMillan is the man in the middle at Ohio State, set for his second year as a starter and already a team captain. Dante Booker and Chris Worley have the lead to start next to him in Ohio State's 4-3 scheme, a pair of juniors finally getting a shot after departures of Darron Lee and Joshua Perry.
Redshirt freshmen Nick Conner (knee) and Justin Hilliard (bicep) continued their rehab during the spring from injuries suffered last year. Jerome Baker made one of the more "wow" plays in the spring game with a one-handed interception and early enrollee Tuf Borland got his feet wet. Four-star Keandre Jones enrolls next month.
Cornerbacks
Redshirt junior Gareon Conley is the lone returning starter in the secondary. He joined Elflein and Price in the famed 2,000-rep club this spring so as to not risk injury. Eric Glover-Williams and Damon Webb each spent time at safety for Greg Schiano, who said at least Webb will likely stay there this fall. Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore and Joshua Norwood battled for the starting spot opposite of Conley, a contest that will bleed into this fall for Kerry Coombs.
Lattimore has the edge, but the staff continues to take it easy with his tender hamstrings after surgery in August 2014. Coombs wants to use a rotation at the position anyways, so it is likely every guy will get some sort of shot this fall. And oh, four highly touted players — Wayne Davis, Rodjay Burns, Kareem Felder and Jordan Fuller — enroll in June.
Safeties
As mentioned above, Webb and Glover-Williams worked with Schiano at safety this spring. Webb and Malik Hooker — who picked off two passes in the spring game, returning one 82 yards for a touchdown — lead to start, but the situation remains fluid.
Still, Webb is finally healthy from the ankle injury that plagued him last year. Senior Cam Burrows gently worked his way back from the foot surgery that cut his 2015 campaign short and Erick Smith did similar workouts as Nick Conner on his way back from an ACL injury. Damon Arnette is healthy and true freshman Jahsen Wint is set to enroll in June.
Specialists
Cameron Johnston punted during the spring game after offseason surgery, so he should be 100 percent by this fall. Longsnapper Liam McCullugh and kicker Sean Nuernberger are also healthy, so there isn't much to report health-wise on the specialists front at Ohio State.
