The final week of spring football has arrived at Ohio State, but there’s still plenty of business left to settle.
Ohio State will practice four times this week, culminating with the spring game, which will be televised live on FOX at noon Saturday. For players currently battling for position on the depth chart, this week will be their last real chance to make their case that they belong in the lineup until the Buckeyes begin preseason camp in August.
While much of Ohio State’s starting lineup for the 2024 season already appears set, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, there are five positions where at least one starting job remains up for grabs: Quarterback, offensive line, Will linebacker, wide receiver, tight end. (Running back could also be included on that list, but it’s safe to assume that TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins will both see extensive playing time regardless of who starts).
Although an important week of on-field action remains for the Buckeyes, we’ve already learned a lot more about the battles at each of those positions than we knew going into the spring. Through multiple opportunities to watch practices as well as various media availabilities with Ryan Day, his assistant coaches and players across every position group, we’ve gotten hints at how the depth chart might stack up at each of those positions if the Buckeyes were to play a game today.
With that in mind, we dive into the state of each of the Buckeyes’ five biggest ongoing position battles ahead of this weekend’s spring game.
Quarterback
This position was at the bottom of our list of Ohio State’s top five position battles entering spring practice, but it’s moved to the top entering the final week of spring ball. While the expectation entering spring was that Will Howard would quickly emerge as the starter and the true competition would be for the backup job, the battle to start remains a real one going into the spring game.
Devin Brown has been at the front of the quarterback order every time practices have been open to the media, and all indications have been that the Buckeyes are impressed with how he’s performed this spring. Howard has drawn praise from Day, too, but he struggled with his accuracy during Ohio State’s Student Appreciation Day – the only practice so far this spring where media have been able to watch the Buckeyes’ offense and defense compete against each other in team drills – leaving Howard with a lot to prove in the spring-game spotlight this weekend.
“I thought he had some really good throws. He did miss some throws as well, but I think that it is slowing down for him,” Day said of Howard after Student Appreciation Day. “Only a few weeks in here, I think we're seeing progress, but I’d really like to see him take the next step the next two weeks.”
As of this past week, Ohio State was still splitting reps among four quarterbacks – Brown, Howard, redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz and true freshman Julian Sayin –during team drills, leaving the picture unclear about how the quarterback depth chart will stack up this season. Brown and Howard appear to be the main combatants for the starting job, though Sayin appears to be the best pure passer on the roster and could become a factor in the competition in preseason camp – at least to be the top backup if not the starter – if neither Howard nor Brown separates himself.
Even if Day is unlikely to name a starter after the spring game, Ohio State would surely like some clarity about who its starting quarterback will be this year coming out of spring. But that could depend on whether Howard or Brown performs well enough this week to stake a clear claim for the job.
Offensive Line
The only two sure-fire starters on the offensive line as of now are left tackle Josh Simmons and left guard Donovan Jackson, but the rest of the potential starting five has started to take shape around them this spring.
Seth McLaughlin and Carson Hinzman have both taken first-team reps at center as Hinzman fights to keep his starting job from the 2023 regular season, but the odds still favor McLaughlin to be the Buckeyes’ primary snapper in 2024. While McLaughlin had some issues with errant snaps at Alabama, Day has said that hasn’t been an issue for McLaughlin this spring, positioning the Crimson Tide transfer as a likely starter if that continues.
The right side of the offensive line remains in question. Josh Fryar has taken some reps at right guard after talk of him potentially moving inside this season, but the Buckeyes’ starting right tackle from last season has continued to practice primarily at that spot this spring. Day has expressed confidence in Fryar’s ability to lock down that starting job and improve upon his issues in pass protection from last season, saying in March that Fryar “had one of the best offseasons of anybody in the building.”
Assuming Fryar stays at RT, the frontrunner to start at right guard appears to be Luke Montgomery, who has taken most of the first-team reps during media viewing opportunities this spring. Montgomery has the talent to earn a starting job as a sophomore after playing some first-team snaps as a sixth offensive lineman as a freshman, and Day has said the Buckeyes “think he's got a very, very high ceiling.”
Tegra Tshabola could also be a candidate for a starting job on the right side, though he’s lined up primarily as the second-team RT behind Fryar in practices that have been open to the media. George Fitzpatrick has also mixed in for some first-team work at tackle. Enokk Vimahi has seen some first-team work at RG this spring, but his performance in the Cotton Bowl didn’t inspire a ton of confidence in his aptitude to be a full-time starter for the Buckeyes.
Out of all the positions on this list, the offensive line might be where the Buckeyes have the most reason to look for another potential starter in the post-spring transfer window, which begins next week. That could depend upon whether the Buckeyes are fully confident in Fryar and Montgomery exiting this week; otherwise, they could look to bring in a plug-and-play guard or upgrade at tackle so they can slide Fryar inside.
Day expressed optimism after Student Appreciation Day, though, that the Buckeyes have the offensive linemen they need already on their roster.
“I’d like to think so, but we still have two more weeks to evaluate that,” Day said two Saturdays ago.
Josh Fryar is currently in position to be Ohio State’s starting right tackle for another year.
Will Linebacker
Ten of Ohio State’s 11 defensive starters can already be penciled in. Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton make up the starting defensive line; Cody Simon is positioned to start at Mike linebacker; Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock, Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom are set to start in the secondary.
Will linebacker is the one spot that remains in question, but the Buckeyes have two highly intriguing options at the position in five-star juniors C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles.
Styles has the advantage of experience, as he started all 13 games between the strong safety and nickel safety positions for the Buckeyes last season. He’s now a full-time linebacker for the first time, but Laurinaitis said last week that he thinks Styles has “made a really smooth transition” to his new position.
Hicks has played only sparingly on defense through two seasons as a Buckeye, but he appears to be making the necessary strides this spring to make a run at the starting job. He earned Silver Bullet of the Day honors after a standout performance on Student Appreciation Day, though James Laurinaitis said last week that he still wants to see more consistency from Hicks on a practice-to-practice basis.
Both third-year linebackers are expected to have a role in the defense this fall, as they’ve also both practiced at the Sam linebacker position this spring, setting up opportunities for the Buckeyes to have both of them on the field along with Simon in three-linebacker packages.
Hicks took the majority of first-team reps at Will on Student Appreciation Day with Styles lining up frequently at Sam, suggesting that Hicks might be slightly ahead of Styles in the competition to start in the base defense, but this is a competition likely to continue into preseason camp. It could continue throughout the season, as Laurinaitis said he thinks starters could be determined from week to week based on game and practice performance.
C.J. Hicks is making a push to earn a starting job for the first time entering his third season at Ohio State.
No. 3 Wide Receiver
With Emeka Egbuka back to lead the receiver group and Carnell Tate expected to move into a starting role this season, Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss are believed to be competing for the third starting spot at wide receiver. But it’s becoming harder and harder to envision a starting lineup that doesn’t include Smith.
No player at any position has generated more buzz this spring than Smith, who broke the record for the fastest freshman to lose his black stripe and has dazzled practice observers by making spectacular catches throughout spring. While the Buckeyes aren’t going to rush into anointing a true freshman as a starter, as evidenced by Smith running primarily with the second-team offense on Student Appreciation Day, he’s done everything he needs to do so far to earn his way onto the top row of the depth chart.
“I'm gonna be careful what I say, but he's been certainly a pleasure to watch and we're all very excited about his future,” Day said after Student Appreciation Day. “If he continues on the path that he's on, he's going to play a lot of football and certainly will have a chance to start as well.”
Jeremiah Smith pic.twitter.com/8tG66Yltsn
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 6, 2024
Inniss looked like he could be the frontrunner to start alongside Egbuka and Tate early in the spring, as he received high praise of his own from Day during the second week of practice. Inniss has since missed some practice time, however, with what Day described as a “temporary injury.”
That’s allowed Smith to gain momentum in the competition for a starting job. But Inniss remains very much in the mix for substantial playing time this season – likely out of the slot, with Egbuka having the flexibility to play both inside and outside – even if he doesn’t end up being in the primary starting lineup.
Jayden Ballard and Bryson Rodgers are also in the mix to earn playing time at wide receiver, with Ballard taking first-team snaps over Smith on Student Appreciation Day. But the quartet of Egbuka, Tate, Smith and Inniss seems likely to play the vast majority of snaps during the season with how talented all four of them are.
Tight End
This position battle hasn’t garnered as much attention as the other four on this list this spring, but it’s an important one nonetheless as the Buckeyes replace a two-time captain at the position with Cade Stover now preparing to begin an NFL career.
Indications so far this spring have been that Gee Scott Jr., Stover’s top backup last season, is the frontrunner to replace him in the starting lineup. Both Day and tight ends coach Keenan Bailey have spoken highly of Scott’s development this spring and his leadership of the tight end room.
Ohio transfer Will Kacmarek, redshirt freshman Jelani Thurman, redshirt sophomore Bennett Christian and even walk-on Patrick Gurd are also battling for position on the depth chart, and there should be opportunities for at least two or three tight ends to play regularly with the Buckeyes’ usage of multi-tight end formations. At least as of mid-March, though, the implication from Day was that the rest of the tight ends had to make up ground to challenge Scott for the starting job.
“I think Gee Scott's had a really good offseason,” Day said during the second week of spring practice. “I think Jelani, Will, Bennett, those guys are gonna have to really step up the next couple of weeks to figure out who's going to be able to play.”
Kacmarek lost his black stripe on Friday, an indicator that he’s started to make the necessary progress to push for a significant role this season, while Thurman has huge upside and should be more ready to play first-team snaps now that he has a year of development under his belt. They’re likely the two biggest contenders to push Scott for the starting job as the offseason progresses into preseason camp. Ideally, Ohio State will want to be able to rely on all three of them to play as much as needed, but Scott proving he can be a reliable every-down tight end would be a good start.
