There are position battles to be settled at nearly every fall camp for every college program, but at Ohio State this year, there are fewer than usual.
All but one spot on defense can be written in pen atop the depth chart.
TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins will both see extensive playing time at running back, Gee Scott Jr. looks like the frontrunner to start at tight end and Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Seth McLaughlin and Josh Fryar are all likely to start on the offensive line.
While it isn't clear who the exact starting three will be at wide receiver – though Emeka Egbuka will certainly be one of them – Egbuka, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss and Jeremiah Smith are slated to all get enough playing time that any "battle" to start is more or less irrelevant.
The top two position battles entering fall camp are two that could determine Ohio State's ceiling in 2024, though, at quarterback and right guard. The Buckeyes will also be deciding on their starting Will linebacker and punter as fall camp opens Thursday.
Quarterback
Will Howard remains the frontrunner here after transferring in from Kansas State this offseason, but Devin Brown has made it a legitimate competition – just as he did last year before losing by a slim margin to Kyle McCord.
Howard has the obvious benefit of experience, throwing for 5,786 yards and 48 touchdowns to this point in his college career. In 2023, he collected 2,643 yards and 24 touchdowns against 10 interceptions.
"It's there for sure," Ryan Day said at Big Ten Media Days on July 23. "He's an older guy, he's played a lot of football. That's something that we watched and we evaluated when we brought him in. So experience does matter."
Brown saw the field last year in some red zone packages during the regular season, in garbage time and in the first quarter against Missouri in the Cotton Bowl before an injury knocked him out of the game. An ankle injury also limited his availability during the regular season. In all, he finished 16-of-28 passing (57.1%) for 217 yards with two touchdowns and one interception to go with a rushing score.
Both are similar in the dual threat they could provide to Ohio State's offense. It's the whole reason a red zone package existed for Brown last year, and Howard racked up 351 rushing yards with nine touchdowns on the ground in 2023.
But while Howard is the presumptive favorite, downfield accuracy was an issue in the spring, and as such Brown had the best spring overall by my eyes and those of Eleven Warriors deputy editor Dan Hope through practices open to the media and the spring game. It should be noted that we don't get to watch all practices or even a majority, and Howard is learning a new offense and developing chemistry with new weapons.
"I think going into the spring you had Lincoln (Kienholz) and you had Devin who were the only ones who really knew the offense," Day said. "We wanted to kind of get through the spring, see what looked like, go through the summer and now the first few weeks of preseason, we'll have a better idea of where everybody is based on the knowledge of the offense. But some guys have really stepped up in the summer ... it's going to come down to what happens on the field."
The dark horse in the competition is freshman Julian Sayin after his transfer from Alabama. The No. 1 quarterback prospect in the class of 2024, his ceiling may be the highest of the group long-term and Day said he was "in the mix" to start this spring. He trailed off some in the Spring Game, though, going 10-of-17 with 85 yards (just five yards per attempt), tossing an interception and getting sacked three times.
A situation also exists where Sayin climbs the depth chart as the season progresses, but for now, it seems to be a two-horse race between Howard and Brown.
Right Guard
Before Big Ten Media Days this section would have been dubbed "offensive line," because while it appeared likely right guard was the only spot open, there was a slight possibility that Josh Fryar could slide inside from right tackle. Indications from Day at media days were that right tackle is where Fryar will play in 2024.
In the spring the competition at right guard was viewed largely as a duel between redshirt sophomore Tegra Tshabola and sophomore Luke Montgomery, the latter leading early as a highly touted recruit and the former surging late. Carson Hinzman, who served as the starting center last year but was benched for the Cotton Bowl, was something of an afterthought.
Exiting media days, he feels like the frontrunner. Day said Hinzman had a "really good offseason" and the Wisconsin product was one of the first names out of the head coach's mouth when addressing where the offensive line is at in Indianapolis.
"When it comes to that right guard position, I think you’re gonna see Carson Hinzman and Seth (McLaughlin), they both can swing between center and guard," Day said. "Tegra Tshabola is another guy who stepped up and had a great summer. Luke Montgomery, we feel like we have some decent guys in there that can fill that role."
As Day also acknowledged at media days, though, it's a hard position to evaluate before the pads come on. Each of Hinzman, Tshabola and Montgomery will get their shot.
It's vital that one of them steps up and takes a step forward alongside Fryar, McLaughlin, left guard Donovan Jackson and left tackle Josh Simmons. The offensive line was the top concern for Ohio State last offseason, and it's the top concern this offseason after the Buckeyes posted their worst yards-per-carry mark on the ground (4.3) since 2004 a year ago.
“The O-line has been the area that we’ve been locked in on,” Day said. “Coming out of the summer, their bodies look different. You’ll see them next week, we have some of those open days of camp. They look good. Mick (Marotti)’s done a great job with them. They’ve had a good summer, but we know how important that is. This team is gonna go as the offensive line goes. This team is gonna go as the defensive line goes. So we know how important the offensive line is gonna be.”
“They’ve had a good summer, but we know how important that is. This team is gonna go as the offensive line goes.”– Ryan Day
Will Linebacker
This is a two-horse race, and Ohio State can't go wrong with either steed.
Both Sonny Styles and C.J. Hicks are five-star prospects entering their third years in Columbus.
Styles rotated at nickel for the first half of last year and started at strong safety for the second half after Lathan Ransom was injured, but he had some issues in the open field playing deep, prompting his move to linebacker as his best plays often came in the box. He finished last season with 53 tackles with 4.5 for loss, two sacks, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.
Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said before 2023 that Hicks would be “unleashed” at some point, but it never happened. He's always been an athletic specimen but it's consistency and the finer points of playing the position that Day, Knowles and linebackers coach James Laurinaitis need to see from Hicks.
"I think C.J. Hicks has done a phenomenal job," Laurinaitis said in April. "You gotta keep pressing him and making sure that he's really tapping into everything that he can offer. I think C.J. sees the opportunity, and he’s certainly making a case to get on the field this fall. So I think it's been a really good spring for C.J."
“I think C.J. Hicks has done a phenomenal job. You gotta keep pressing him and making sure that he's really tapping into everything that he can offer.”– James Laurinaitis
Both are likely to see the field regardless of who starts at Will linebacker, however. Styles is a fantastic chess piece against run-heavy teams out of a 4-3 look to cover tight ends and play the run game with his experience at safety. Hicks could be a major threat rushing off the edge, and the skillsets of the duo are diverse enough from starting Mike linebacker Cody Simon that they could see the field together without Simon on passing downs.
Punter
Ohio State added two punters this offseason to compete with walk-on Joe McGuire at the position. Former Buffalo standout Anthony Venneri comes in as another walk-on after averaging 43.9 yards per punt in 2023 and Australian Nick McLarty joins the team on scholarship as a freshman.
Despite transitioning straight to American football from Australian rules football, McLarty might be the presumptive favorite given his scholarship status and some cautious praise from Day at media days.
"That's going to be a battle that goes into probably the third week to see if they can win the job," Day said. "We've got three or four guys in there that are going to be in the mix. (McLarty's) got a big leg. He's young. So we'll kind of see. We've got another guy with some experience (Venneri) coming in."
McLarty has some impressive tape, even if it's not in-game against a rush.
Venneri's experience cannot be discounted, however. He has two years of averaging 43 yards per punt or better at Buffalo to his credit. McGuire is more of a wild card in the contest but he also has the Australian background of several Buckeye booters before him, including Cam Johnston and Jesse Mirco.
