For the third time this spring, reporters who cover Ohio State football had the opportunity to watch through the Buckeyes go through 11-on-11 team drills on Friday. The Buckeyes opened up the final hour of their practice to media members, giving us our third opportunity in three weeks to see the offense and defense go head-to-head in simulated game action and get a glimpse at which Buckeyes are making a push to climb the depth chart.
While Friday’s practice wasn’t a full-blown scrimmage like the two Saturday practices that were previously open to the media, there were still several players who made eye-catching plays and other noteworthy developments from what we were able to see inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Friday.
Hicks takes first-team reps, Simon and Carrico impress
Many Ohio State fans have been hungry to see C.J. Hicks get more reps with the first-team defense entering his second year as a Buckeye. During the portion of practice that was open to the media Friday, Hicks took nearly all of the first-team reps at Will linebacker alongside Cody Simon at Mike linebacker with Steele Chambers joining Tommy Eichenberg on the unavailable list for the remainder of the spring.
While that’s a noteworthy development for Hicks as he looks to lock down a spot in the two-deep and earn a role in Ohio State’s defense after playing zero defensive snaps as a freshman, Simon was the bigger standout of the first-team linebackers on Friday, forcing multiple incompletions with tight coverage during the red-zone period of practice that wrapped up the day.
Another standout at linebacker on Friday was redshirt sophomore Reid Carrico, who saw extended work with the second-team defense at Will linebacker with Hicks repping with the ones. Carrico’s name may have been called out for making plays by practice emcee Austin Edwards more than any other Buckeye during the portion of practice that was open to the media, in which Carrico made multiple pass breakups and was also quick to the ball as a run defender and blitzer.
Gabe Powers took most of the second-team reps at Mike linebacker while walk-ons Jackson Kuwatch and Jalen Pace also mixed in at linebacker with the second-team defense.
Antwi, Martinez make plays of the day
The highlight of Friday’s red zone drill came when redshirt freshman wide receiver Kojo Antwi made the catch of the day on a throw to the end zone by Devin Brown. Despite being tightly guarded by cornerback Davison Igbinosun and Igbinosun getting an arm in between Antwi’s hands, Antwi – who saw regular work with the second-team offense alongside fellow second-year receivers Kaleb Brown and Kyion Grayes and freshman Bryson Rodgers on Friday – hauled the pass in for a touchdown catch that prompted a raucous celebration from the offense.
On the other side of the ball, the highlight of the day came from Cameron Martinez, who broke in front of a pass thrown into double coverage by Kyle McCord and intercepted it for what would have been a pick-six. Martinez looked stout in coverage throughout the open portion of practice as he took all of the first-team reps at nickel safety with Ja’Had Carter sidelined by a knee injury, though Carter was in uniform and spent part of the practice doing drill work with a group of players recovering from injuries that also included wide receivers Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and Caleb Burton, running backs TreVeyon Henderson and TC Caffey, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, safety Kourt Williams and center Jakob James.
Day sees progress from quarterbacks
Friday marked the second straight practice open to the media in which McCord threw the only interception of the day with that interception coming in 7-on-7 drills.
As has been the case in all three extended portions of practice that have been open to the media this spring, neither quarterback was a clear standout in Friday’s practice. There weren’t many long completions for either quarterback on Friday, as many of their passes came on short throws or checkdowns.
Another strong showing for the defensive line and the secondary had something to do with that, though, and Ryan Day came away from Friday’s practice feeling McCord and Brown had shown progress. Day was often animated as he coached the quarterbacks on Friday, and he appreciated the way they responded to tough coaching.
“I liked the way the quarterbacks competed. I thought it was a good day,” Day said. “I was getting after them today, but they both embraced it, and I thought that was fun. We had a blast. Every rep wasn't great. But when they allow you to coach them hard, then you can get a lot better, and I thought they did that today.
“We’re not there yet,” Day added when asked if either quarterback had separated himself as a starter. “But today was a step in the right direction. I like the way they competed today. Took the classroom to the field. And again, if they're gonna allow us to coach them hard like that, then they're gonna get better faster.”
Additional observations
- Zen Michalski returned to practice after missing Saturday’s Student Appreciation Day practice with an undisclosed ailment. He took reps with both the first- and second-team offensive lines at right tackle along with Tegra Tshabola. Both of them also saw occasional work at left tackle on Friday while Josh Fryar and George Fitzpatrick saw some snaps at right tackle.
- Enokk Vimahi continued to rotate in regularly with the first-team offense at both left and right guard.
- Victor Cutler saw an increase in reps with the first-team offensive line at center from previous practices. While Carson Hinzman has taken most of the first-team reps this spring, Day said Hinzman has not locked down the starting job yet and that Cutler is making “good progress,” but said Cutler is still “learning how to practice at Ohio State every day.”
- Just as he did in last Saturday’s scrimmage, Marvin Harrison Jr. took nearly all of his reps in Friday’s practice from the slot. With Egbuka, Fleming and Xavier Johnson all out, Harrison took most of the first-team reps in the slot while Jayden Ballard and freshmen Carnell Tate and Noah Rogers took most of the outside receiver reps with the starters.
- Friday was the first time this spring that the media had the opportunity to watch the Buckeyes practice kickoff returns. With Johnson out, Kaleb Brown took the first reps at kickoff returner while Tate took the second reps. Brown broke one long return while Tate muffed a kickoff when he tried to run with the ball before securing possession.
- TreVeyon Henderson took some reps at running back during the teach periods, which are half-speed, non-contact practice periods that emphasize fundamentals and play installation.
- Kenyatta Jackson stood out as he consistently has in practices that have been open to the media this spring, blowing up multiple plays in the backfield and forcing an incomplete pass by beating Michalski for a spin move. Jaden McKenzie also had a strong showing on the defensive line for a second straight open practice, stopping multiple runs behind the line of scrimmage.
- Freshman tight end Jelani Thurman and safety Malik Hartford and walk-on running back Chase Brecht – who saw a heavy dose of work with the second-team offense Friday with Dallan Hayden and Chip Trayanum splitting first-team reps – all had their black stripes removed after Friday’s practice.
