Ohio State Ramps Up Preparation for 2019 Season As Preseason Camp Begins Friday

Ohio State’s preparation for the 2019 season will officially ramp up on Friday morning around 9:30 a.m., when the Buckeyes take the field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for their first practice since April as preseason camp begins.

For the next 18 days – until Ohio State’s fall semester classes start on Aug. 20, at which point the Buckeyes will shift to their in-season afternoon practice schedule – the Buckeyes will be fully focused on football and getting ready for the season, which begins on Aug. 31 against Florida Atlantic at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes will practice on 15 of the next 18 mornings, while they’ll also attend meetings each day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. For most of camp, they’ll even live together at the team hotel.

The next few weeks are a crucial time for the Buckeyes to not only set their depth chart and get ready to play their first game, but also to build team chemistry and make sure everyone is on the same page going into the season.

“This team has got a lot to prove,” Ryan Day said at Big Ten media days. “The coaching staff is a new coaching staff. We've got a lot to prove. August is going to be a big month for us.”

Day is leading Ohio State into fall camp for the second consecutive year – Urban Meyer was placed on administrative leave two days before the start of camp last year – but for the first time as the Buckeyes’ actual head coach. Five new assistant coaches, meanwhile, are entering their first preseason camp at Ohio State: co-defensive coordinators Greg Mattison and Jeff Hafley, linebackers coach Al Washington, special teams coordinator and assistant secondary coach Matt Barnes and quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator Mike Yurcich.

It’s also the first fall camp for nearly every quarterback on Ohio State’s roster, most notably Justin Fields, who will be looking to prove over the next couple weeks that he’s ready to be the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback. Gunnar Hoak, who will be participating in his first-ever practices as a Buckeye after arriving as a graduate transfer this summer, will open camp competing with Fields for the starting job.

“We've got a lot to prove. August is going to be a big month for us.”– Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on fall camp

Day said at Big Ten media days that he would ideally like to name a starting quarterback within the first two weeks of camp – because after that, the Buckeyes will need their primary focus to be preparing for the season opener – and it’s widely expected that Fields will ultimately be his choice, but Day doesn’t want to simply give Fields the starting job; he wants the Georgia transfer to earn it over the next month of practices.

“Physically, he checks all the boxes: running, athleticism, size, power, throwing ability, arm strength, accuracy, intelligence. He has all those things,” Day said of Fields. “Now it’s just a matter of going into August and putting on the field and seeing what kind of product we’ve got.”

RELATED Ryan Day Managing Expectations with Justin Fields As Ohio State's Quarterback Competition Continues into Preseason Camp

Ohio State isn’t expected to make any massive changes to its offensive scheme this season, but the Buckeyes are replacing seven starters on offense from last year – including four offensive linemen – and there are still some jobs up for grabs. Thayer Munford is a returning starter at left tackle, Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis are expected to start at center and right guard and graduate transfer Jonah Jackson is likely to start at left guard, but Day said last month that Branden Bowen, Joshua Alabi and Nicholas Petit-Frere are all candidates to start on the offensive line, as well.

“The exciting thing about college football is every year that offense is going to adapt based on your personnel,” Day said. “Losing as many guys as we lost on offense, it's going to look different this year, and that's an exciting journey as we move into August.”

Defensively, the Buckeyes return nine starters but are transitioning to a new scheme, with only one returning assistant on that side of the ball in defensive line coach Larry Johnson. That makes the next few weeks a crucial time for Ohio State to iron out the kinks in its new scheme before the Buckeyes bring it into a real game for the first time.

Coming off a season in which they more than 25 points and 400 yards per game, though, Ohio State’s defensive players – who Day described as “salty” – are particularly excited to get back on the field and work toward what they expect to be a much more successful season in 2019.

“We just have a big chip on our shoulder,” safety Jordan Fuller said at media days. “Last year wasn’t fun, and it wasn’t the year we wanted at all. So this year is for redemption and to prove everybody wrong.”

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The first 30 minutes of Friday’s practice will be open to the media, and Day is scheduled to meet with the media along with several Ohio State players following practice, so stay tuned with Eleven Warriors for coverage all day as the Buckeyes take the field for their first practice featuring their full 2019 roster.

In total, Ohio State will open up at least a portion of four of this month’s practices to the media, and will also hold interview sessions after several other practices; we’ll have coverage from all of those media availabilities, and you can check out the schedule below to know what to expect.

While you wait for our updates, photos and videos that will follow from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center later today, check out the following links for more reading material previewing what’s to come over the next few weeks:

• 25 Things We're Paying Attention to as Ohio State Begins Fall Camp
• Where Ohio State's Position Battles Stand Entering Fall Camp
• 11 Ohio State Players Who Need to Impress in Preseason Camp to Earn More Playing Time This Season