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Ohio State blows out Indiana, 38-15. Now, it's time to do the same to That Team Up North.
After scrimmaging each of the past two Saturdays, the Buckeyes have the weekend off.
That rest time is well-deserved following 11 practices over the past month, including a Friday morning session that featured plenty of head-to-head 11-on-11 work to close out the week.
Eleven Warriors was in attendance for more than an hour of action at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, and while no video or photography was permitted, we’ve highlighted many of the standout moments and performers from Friday’s practice below.
Cam Martinez
Still taking the lion’s share of first-team reps at nickel safety in practice, Martinez made arguably the play of the day for the Buckeye defense during 7-on-7 action. The fourth-year defensive back picked off a Kyle McCord pass in coverage on a short route by Jayden Ballard underneath in what would have been a pick-six even if Ohio State was running live 11-on-11 reps.
Later on during a situational third-down drill with the Buckeyes going 11-on-11, Martinez’s blanket coverage on Marvin Harrison Jr. downfield forced a Devin Brown incompletion with the first-team offense.
With Syracuse transfer Ja’Had Carter out of practice following the knee injury he suffered during Student Appreciation Day last weekend, Martinez continued to look deserving of all the first-team opportunities he’s received this spring.
C.J. Hicks
With Steele Chambers sidelined due to injury, Hicks got the nod as Ohio State’s first-team Will linebacker during practice on Friday, and the five-star recruit didn’t look out of place.
During one 7-on-7 play, Hicks made a stop in pass coverage against the first-team offense. Then as Ohio State drilled 11-on-11 third-down situations, Hicks showed off his ability to rush the passer. Both he and JT Tuimoloau and blew up the pocket to close in around Devin Brown and effectively force a fourth down for the Buckeye offense. Hicks appeared to manhandle Dallan Hayden in pass protection on the play.
Hicks may not continue to receive first-team reps when Chambers returns to action in the summer, but until then, he has a chance to impress Jim Knowles and the Ohio State coaching staff in an effort to earn more playing time as a second-year Buckeye.
“He’ll have a procedure done, but he'll be back for preseason and should have a pretty good summer,” Day said of Chambers on Friday.
Kojo Antwi
He may not have made a host of standout plays on Friday, but Antwi produced the highlight play of the day for the Ohio State offense.
The Buckeyes were drilling 11-on-11 work in the red zone late in practice when Devin Brown let fly a quick-trigger pass to the corner of the end zone. Antwi was the target, working one-on-one against Ole Miss transfer cornerback Davison Igbinosun, and despite razor-close coverage, Antwi plucked the ball out of the air and got his feet inbounds for a touchdown with Igbinosun draped all over him.
The score drew an uproarious reaction from the Buckeye offense, as a slew of players who weren’t even participating in the rep came running over in excitement to congratulate Antwi.
Given the depth of Brian Hartline’s wide receiver room, plays like that can only help the cause of a second-year wideout like Antwi, who is otherwise likely to face an uphill battle for playing time come the start of the season.
Chip Trayanum
Following the 70-yard touchdown he ripped off in last week’s scrimmage, Trayanum made another impressive play that went for a touchdown on Friday. The linebacker-turned-running back lowered his pad level to truck right through Lathan Ransom on a red-zone handoff to punch the ball into the end zone from approximately 10 yards out.
On Wednesday, Tony Alford said Trayanum’s combination of speed and strength could make him an ideal fit as a situational short-yardage back in 2023, and he proved that Friday when he ran over Ransom for a score.
“There's some things that if we're in a short-yardage situation and in 3rd-and-1, maybe I don't want Evan (Pryor) in the game. Maybe I want Miyan or Chip in the game,” Alford said. “And so I think a lot of it's just game situation and where we're at and what we're doing, and once again, it goes back to a lot of health issues as well and who's healthy and who's available.”
Cornerback play
Tim Walton’s position room continues to show improvement this spring as several of his cornerbacks either broke up passes or made notable plays during Friday’s practice.
During 7-on-7 work, Denzel Burke’s tight coverage prevented a completion from McCord to Kyion Grayes on the sideline. Ryan Turner ran nearly lockstep with Kaleb Brown later on to help stop what would have been a long completion deep downfield. Jyaire Brown also stopped Carnell Tate from making a sideline catch on a pass from Devin Brown during the period.
Later in 11-on-11 reps, both Jordan Hancock and Davison Igbinosun registered PBUs of their own to help stifle Ohio State’s passing offense.
The Ohio State secondary certainly gave up some completions along the way, but the offense often had to settle for short gains and underneath routes to try and move the ball through the air over the course of the practice.
Tegra Tshabola
I’d be lying if I said I closely examined every rep Tshabola took on the Ohio State offensive line Friday, but the second-year Buckeye held his own for multiple series of first- and second-team action blocking the likes of Caden Curry and Jack Sawyer at right tackle. Tshabola also saw some reps at left tackle as Ohio State mixed things up on its front line Friday.
Tashabola’s play only looked better in comparison to Zen Michalski and George Fitzpatrick, who were both taken off the field and made to run a lap around the training facility following false start penalties during stints at right tackle at practice.
“Anytime you’re in spring practice, preseason, there has to be consequences for making mistakes. We try to simulate the game the best we can,” Day said. “Just to make a mistake and thinks it’s gonna be OK doesn’t work. So if there’s a penalty, there’s a lap. Take them out of the game.”
Day said the offensive line had good moments on Friday, but that it’s still "hard to tell" exactly what he has up front.
“We need some guys to step up," he said.
Chase Brecht
With several scholarship running backs still on the mend this spring, a walk-on in Alford’s room received a surprising amount of action on Friday.
Brecht, a sophomore from Powell, Ohio, saw plenty of opportunities with the second-team Ohio State offense in practice, taking a number of handoffs and even catching some passes by the end of the session. Brecht didn’t necessarily make any truly eye-popping plays, but looked serviceable in his role and got extra yardage out of a couple of nice gains.
After practice, Brecht was one of three Buckeyes to shed their black stripe, alongside true freshmen Jelani Thurman and Malik Hartford.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 7, 2023
weve got a new member of tote nation. welcome to the brotherhood, @chase_brecht11#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/F6RupfpSVq
