In my best Biz Markie voice, it's spring again, everybody knows it's spring again.
Nothing highlights the season better than Ohio State's annual spring game with this year's version set for Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the Shoe.
This year, the scrimmage takes on even more intrigue following the beatdown fans witnessed the last time the Buckeyes took the field followed soon after by the departures of Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker, Gareon Conley, Curtis Samuel, Raekwon McMillan, Pat Elflein and Noah Brown to the NFL.
With so much playing time up for grabs, a roster loaded with blue chips including 10 early enrollees (nine true freshmen and juco transfer Kendall Sheffield) and a host of question marks particularly on offense, Saturday should be exciting for players, coaches and fans alike.
With the potential storylines plentiful here are Five Things in particular I'll be watching for Saturday afternoon.
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After Isaiah Prince's turnstyle impersonation last season as a first-year starter at right tackle, the angst over that position has yet to subside. The good news is we're hearing the right things so far this spring and there's a list of guys including Taylor Decker who struggled in their initial year as a starter only to come on big time the following year.
It remains to be seen if that'll happen with Prince but for now, I'm more concerned about right guard than right tackle.
A little over a week ago Urban Meyer held a presser and ended up largely running down Ohio State's depth chart. In that session he called out Demetrius Knox as the guy currently running with the ones, acknowledged Malcolm Pridgeon is still learning the offense and touted Matt Burrell as one of the offensive line's most improved players.
Since then, Knox missed last Saturday's student appreciation practice due to reported academic issues. This comes on the heels of Knox missing most of last season with a broken foot suffered in late September after also breaking a foot back in February of 2015. And I think most of us, though trying to forget, remember the few snaps he played against Clemson.
Can Knox lock down the position this fall? That seems far from certain and as such I'm very much interested to see how he looks against Ohio State's defensive front on Saturday.
I'd love to see Pridgeon step up as well but it's more than a little concerning he's still learning the offense though he suffered his own major injury last year. And what about Burrell? He came in as a top-10 offensive line prospect but he's yet to be factor for the Buckeyes. Billy Price says Burrell now has his head on straight after spending too much time doing the wrong things early on so I'm also interested to see what he brings to the table this weekend. True freshman Wyatt Davis arrives this summer but it's hard to imagine him being an immediate factor.
One of these dudes has to step up (along with Prince) because the talk of J.T. Barrett improving his footwork and accuracy won't mean much if he's running for his life before any intermediate-to-deep routes can develop.
SLOT MACHINE
Though Kevin Wilson is now in the fold as offensive coordinator and the scheme will therefore evolve a little bit, the general belief is Ohio State still needs a legit threat at H-back for the unit to hum.
With the departure of Samuel, many including yours truly figured Demario McCall would get a long look at the position but instead Meyer tabbed Parris Campbell as the man to beat after the redshirt junior spent his first three years at Ohio State at wide receiver.
A high school running back, the move feels natural to Campbell which is great to hear but seeing is believing and hopefully we can all start believing after the spring game.
The move makes sense considering Campbell's high school background, size and the reality he'll see more favorable coverage matchups lined up inside.
Beyond itching to see what Campbell can do inside, I still have high hopes for K.J. Hill and while he'll likely start out wide, he should also see time in the slot. And we can't forget about Eric Glover-Williams either.
Finally, with Wilson serving as the primary playcaller, I'm anxious to see if/how the H-back is deployed in alternate ways than we've seen in previous years.
STEP OUTSIDE
Zach Smith and his wide receiving corps haven't lived up to the (self-inflicted) hype the last few years and it came to a head last season when Smith's leading true wide receiver posted 32 grabs for 402 yards (Brown) and his 2nd-leading true wide receiver went for 18 receptions and 262 yards.
This year, Brown is no longer on the roster and Campbell seems destined to play his majority of snaps inside.
That leaves Hill, Terry McLaurin, Binjimen Victor, Johnnie Dixon, Austin Mack and Brendon White to compete for snaps on Saturday.
Hill and McLaurin are the current projected starters and while I've noted an affinity for Hill, I'm not as bullish on McLaurin after his 11-catch, 114-yard output a year ago.
Instead, I'm very much intrigued by Victor's potential. His snaps were limited last fall by typical freshman opportunities and while he continues to show flashes of ridiculous talent, it sounds like achieving consistency in all facets of the position remains an opportunity.
I'm looking for Victor to make the most of what should be a typical pass-happy spring game by showing some consistency in being able to get past defenders for deep shots, creating separation in general and whether or not he can effectively support the run game.
C'mon, Victor. Give this offense the tall receiver that can go get a deep ball it so desperately needs.
NEW SHEF IN THE KITCHEN
I can't wait to see a slightly more seasoned Denzel Ward at one corner on Saturday. I wasn't big on him early last season but then it switched as he became a strong coverage guy down the stretch.
While I see Ward as a potential star, I'm not sold Ohio State yet has a guy opposite him that can give the Buckeyes the same balance they had a year ago.
Damon Arnette is drawing praise as the No. 2 corner which is great to hear but I'm having trouble shaking visions of his scorched uniform in a handful of games last year. I have no doubts he's improved – taking some lumps seems like the nature of the corner spot for most young guys – but I'm looking forward to seeing Kendall Sheffield who appears to be the No. 3 corner which means he'll see a ton of time come fall.
Can Sheff, a former five-star who went the juco route, be a guy the staff can count on in real games as a rotational corner? All signs point to yes and I'm excited to get an extended look at him in live action.
Peeping true freshmen Shaun Wade and Jeffrey Okudah in the secondary should also provide some entertainment.
WHAT'S THE ROLE FOR THE GOAT?
While most of the spring happenings have proved favorable, like many others 'round these parts, I'm salty Demario McCall has largely failed to make the headlines.
The kid averaged 5.5 yards per carry (49 for 273) last year with three scores and hauled in a modest four passes, averaging 21 yards per, with a touchdown showing a nice blend of shake and speed.
This spring however, Meyer hasn't shown him much love in media opportunities and while he's penciled in as Mike Weber's backup at tailback, Meyer has seemingly given third-stringer J.K. Dobbins more lip service.
As noted above, the hope was also for McCall to be considered at the H but with Campbell and Hill looking like the starter and primary backup, I'm hoping McCall will get some touches at tailback on Saturday and remind folks of what he can do.
Of course, the spring game typically features the quarterbacks and Wilson brought some new screen looks with him from Bloomington so hopefully McCall can turn a few of those into big gainers since traditional running plays could be relatively scarce.
