Spring football at Ohio State is off for at least for the next three weeks.
The Big Ten announced Friday that “all organized team activities have been suspended until April 6, 2020, and will be re-evaluated at that time,” and Ohio State later confirmed that spring practices will not be held until at least April 6 “and possibly longer.” All athletic facilities will be closed, and student-athletes have been asked to clear out their lockers by 5 p.m. Monday. Student-athletes will be encouraged to stay home.
Ohio State's spring game, scheduled for April 11, was already canceled.
Friday's announcement came after the Big Ten announced Thursday that it had canceled all conference and non-conference competitions through the end of the academic year, including all spring sports, and Ohio State announced that it has suspended in-person classes for the remainder of the spring semester. The Big Ten's announcement on Friday is an additional measure to its Thursday announcement, so all competitions through the end of the academic year are still canceled and will not be re-evaluated.
Ohio State was originally scheduled to return to the practice field on Tuesday after a week off for spring break, but now, the Buckeyes' on-field preparation for the 2020 season has been put on hold.
Should the Buckeyes be unable to resume spring practices, it creates an unexpected challenge for Ryan Day and his squad, as they now lose 12 crucial practice sessions to develop as a team and evaluate their progress going into the summer. It will leave the Buckeyes with plenty of unanswered questions going into preseason camp, and cuts short the opportunity that many of the team's younger and less experienced players had to prove they're ready to play and make a move up the depth chart this spring.
Now, though, Ohio State will be forced to adjust and make up for lost time and response to a decision that, while inconvenient to the football team's preparation, has been made in the interest of the players' health.
Ohio State had already suspended all recruiting visits to campus and off-campus recruiting travel for coaches through April 20. The Big Ten said Thursday that it has placed “a moratorium on all on- and off-campus recruiting activities for the foreseeable future.”
