“Parris Campbell. Parris Campbell. PARRIS CAMPBELL. PARRIS CAMPBELL!”
The decibel level of Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer's voice increased each time he shouted the redshirt junior wide receiver's name after Campbell made a nice grab on a post route from J.T. Barrett on Tuesday morning. The play came during the "mini-field" portion of practice, which is the same thing as saying two wide receivers, a quarterback and running back work against a safety, linebacker and two defensive backs on half the field. Campbell worked almost exclusively in the slot during practice.
Meyer fist pumped after Campbell rose above a defender and got his feet down before tumbling out of bounds for a roughly 15-yard gain. It is clear the head coach has his eye on the wide receivers this spring.
Here are other observations from the offensive side of the ball on Tuesday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
NOTES:
- Early enrollee numbers on Ohio State's offense: running back J.K. Dobbins (No. 2), quarterback Tate Martell (No. 18) and wide receiver Brendon White (No. 80).
- Prior to practice starting, Meyer gathered his team at the south end of the field for a roughly seven-minute pre-practice talk. The theme: "Why be great?"
- Quarterbacks J.T. Barrett and Joe Burrow were the lone players wearing black practice jerseys on Tuesday. Redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins and true freshman Tate Martell wore red.
- The players who took reps at punt returner, in order: Demario McCall, Eric Glover-Williams, K.J. Hill, Kendall Sheffield and Shaun Wade. Glover-Williams worked exclusively with the wide receivers on Tuesday, as did early enrollee Brendon White.
- Though he plans to transfer to the University of Cincinnati, Kyle Trout remains in Columbus and is practicing with the Buckeyes. An Ohio State spokesman said Trout will work out with the Buckeyes while he finishes his degree this spring, then head down Interstate 71 to the Queen City to play for Luke Fickell.
- Fifth-year senior and returning leading pass-catcher Marcus Baugh did not practice on Tuesday. An Ohio State spokesman said Baugh had a procedure on his shoulder, and it is unclear how much on-field work he will do this spring as he rehabs.
- Along with Campbell, McCall looks like Ohio State's leader to replace Curtis Samuel at H-back. The sophomore did all the running back drills but ran alternate steps and caught passes more than the others at the position, showing his versatility.
- When the team broke for individual drills, Meyer began practice watching the quarterbacks intently. He then moved to the wide receivers.
- Wide receiver Johnnie Dixon did everything at practice, including the drills and mini-field portion.
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Running backs coach Tony Alford was all over sophomore Antonio Williams in practice. Williams made multiple mistakes during running back drills, running the wrong way. Alford called him a "dumbass" once before saying, "Even in North Carolina, I'm pretty sure your right is your right."
Video evidence of Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford calling Antonio Williams a bad word for going the wrong way in a drill: pic.twitter.com/O2Hfob604k
— Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) March 7, 2017 - Offensive lineman Malcolm Pridgeon is in fact full-go. He participated in everything on Tuesday.
- First-team offense in mini-field portion of practice (this includes both sides, but counts as two reps — one for each side of the field): J.T. Barrett, Mike Weber, Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Luke Farrell and Terry McLaurin.
- On the first play of mini-field, Dixon beat Damon Arnette down the field only to see a pass go right through his hands from Barrett.
- Binjimen Victor also dropped a well-thrown ball from Burrow after beating true freshman Shaun Wade on a slant pattern.
- Tate Martell overthrew Campbell on the sideline. The ball sailed way out of bounds.
- The same thing happened to Dwayne Haskins, only he overthrew K.J. Hill.
- True freshman running back J.K. Dobbins looked crisp, dynamic and fast. He did not show any sort of restrictions from the ankle surgery he underwent last fall after getting hurt in the first game of his senior year.
- Former Ohio State and Cleveland Browns receiver Brian Hartline was at practice working with the wide receivers. A spokesman said he is a graduate assistant and could become a quality control coach.
- Stacy Elliott and Mike Tomczak attended practice.
