Ohio State held its third practice of preseason camp on Friday morning, and for the second time this week, members of the media were allowed in to watch the start of practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
We were permitted to watch the first four periods of practice on Friday, giving us another brief glimpse at the Buckeyes preparing for the 2021 season. Although there wasn’t a ton of new, groundbreaking information to be gleaned, it was a chance to come away with some additional observations and capture some video clips from practice, like the ones below:
Linebackers and running backs going through a change-of-direction drill, starting with Steele Chambers and ending with Palaie Gaoteote. pic.twitter.com/q5gU6SbmBB
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 6, 2021
Defensive line work at Ohio State practice, with Jack Sawyer at the start of this clip: pic.twitter.com/WG5aXB5y8N
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 6, 2021
Larry Johnson and co. pic.twitter.com/YPpFdNBtC4
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) August 6, 2021
Today’s obligatory quarterback update is that, well, not much has changed. C.J. Stroud remained at the front of the throwing line, just as he has every time we’ve seen Ohio State practice this year, but continued to split reps equally with Jack Miller and Kyle McCord.
Some more observations from Friday’s practice:
Cam Brown looks healthy
As Ohio State looks for improved play in the secondary following a rough 2020 season for the pass defense, one of the biggest questions going into preseason camp has been whether projected starting cornerback Cameron Brown will be back to 100 percent after tearing his Achilles in last year’s game at Penn State.
He looked the part during the final period the media was able to watch at Friday’s practice – a mini-field throwing session – which he started by breaking up the first two passes of the session, including one in coverage against Julian Fleming that got Kerry Coombs jumping up and down.
In an interview after Friday's practice, Brown said he is feeling fully healthy – even though Ohio State still has him on a “pitch count” to ease him back into practice – and has his sights set on a breakout year.
Kicker competition begins
Special teams is always a focus early in each practice, and that was no different on Friday. Except instead of beginning with the punt team, the Buckeyes opened things with their field-goal unit.
That gave the media a chance to get an idea of how special teams coordinator Matt Barnes is approaching the competition to replace Blake Haubeil. Instead of just giving the job to redshirt freshman Jake Seibert, Ohio State has an ongoing competition between Seibert and Noah Ruggles, a North Carolina graduate transfer.
Seibert and Ruggles rotated field-goal kicking duties as the entire unit was on the field and all eyes were on them. At some point this month, the coaches will have to decide which of the two to go with to open the season at Minnesota.
Bradley Robinson is, once again, the team’s long snapper. The senior won the job last offseason.
Defensive positions and reps
These early practices offer a lens into some positional specifics to help understand exactly where some of these players are fitting in.
Freshman defensive back Jantzen Dunn, who lined up deep at free safety during the spring, was seen closer to the line of scrimmage at the cover safety position on Friday. Marcus Hooker and Bryson Shaw were among the free safeties, joining Josh Proctor as the defensive backs lined up the deepest.
Lathan Ransom continued to play cover safety, with Marcus Williamson taking the first-team reps at the position during the limited media viewing window.
Craig Young remains a bullet in the current defense. On one of his first reps during the mini-field portion of practice, he was tasked with man-to-man coverage on Jaxon Smith-Njigba who crossed him over with his route and sent him the wrong direction. It was both a reminder of Smith-Njigba’s skillset and the coverage skills that Ohio State wants Young to possess in order to take the field.
Demario McCall, a sixth-year senior, continues to take legitimate reps at outside cornerback. It’s unclear if he’ll actually factor into this defense’s plans, but he’s getting a real opportunity to make plays.
K’Vaughan Pope was on the field as the third linebacker – along with Teradja Mitchell and Cody Simon – to begin the mini-field part of Wednesday’s practice.
Other notes
- Nate Ebner was running by himself and working out on the practice field adjacent to the one the Buckeyes were using. The former Buckeye who’s made a career for himself in the NFL as a special teams ace remains unsigned.
- Ronnie Hickman, a potential starter at bullet, appeared to suffer an injury during practice and had not returned to the field by the time the media viewing window ended. He was getting his left leg worked on while on the ground then stood up after a few minutes on his back and walked around without his helmet on for the remainder of the time reporters were watching.
- Mitchell Melton and Kamryn Babb, who are both rehabbing from injuries suffered this spring, were working out on a side field separate from the rest of the team practicing.
- Emeka Egbuka is a true freshman who has never played a snap. Yet he physically is perhaps the largest wide receiver on the team. He's uncommonly well-built for somebody so young, and it's evident why he drew praise from Ryan Day earlier this week.
