Will Howard had the kind of practice we had been waiting to see from the Kansas State transfer quarterback on Ohio State’s second day of preseason camp.
After an underwhelming first day of camp on Thursday, Howard was much more consistent during Friday’s second practice of August. He showed the best deep accuracy we’ve seen from the fifth-year senior passer dating back to this spring, delivering multiple on-target long balls including a beautiful wheel-route completion to TreVeyon Henderson on the right sideline over Garrett Stover.
Howard also impressed with his pocket presence and reads as there were multiple examples of Howard working through multiple progressions to find open receivers for completions during team and 7-on-7 drills.
It still wasn’t a perfect day for Howard. He had to run a lap after dropping a snap from Seth McLaughlin during team drills, and he got away with a near-interception that Jaylen McClain dropped on an underthrown deep ball to Reis Stocksdale. Overall, though, there was much more positive than negative to take away from Friday’s practice for Howard.
He wasn’t the only quarterback who impressed on Friday.
Devin Brown connected with Jeremiah Smith on a long deep ball over Aaron Scott Jr. early in practice, then capped off the practice with a beautiful deep completion to Bryson Rodgers on the day’s final play.
True freshman Julian Sayin continued to flash. He showed impressive zip on his passes as he threaded multiple intermediate throws to Will Kacmarek between coverage. He delivered another highlight when he ran away from multiple pass-rushers while keeping his eyes downfield before completing a long pass to Jelani Thurman going to the right sideline.
While quarterback remains a question mark for Ohio State four weeks ahead of the season opener, Friday was a positive indicator of the promise and collective potential of the passers vying for playing time at the top of the Buckeyes’ depth chart.
Simpson-Hunt shines
The star on the day on the other side of the ball was redshirt freshman cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt, who ran with the second-team unit all day at outside cornerback and provided sticky coverage throughout the practice, breaking up a practice-high three passes during 7-on-7.
Two days into camp, Simpson-Hunt and Scott have been lining up as the second-string outside cornerbacks behind starters Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun. Jermaine Mathews Jr., who was the top backup outside last season, has spent the first two days practicing at nickel – a move made in part because Lorenzo Styles Jr. has been a non-participant in the first two days of practice while recovering from a shoulder injury he suffered this spring.
“Jermaine has already shown that he can be a gamer, and that's why he's some nickel; we're trying to find a home for him,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said after Friday’s practice. “And I think Calvin is still proving himself. I’m with you; it looked like he had a good day today. So we just need to see more and more good days out of him. But I know Jermaine is going to be there come game time.”
Hinzman returns
After missing Thursday’s opening practice due to illness, Carson Hinzman was back on the practice field Friday. While he’s seen as a potential starter at right guard, he spent his first practice of camp working at center, manning the middle of an offensive line unit that also included Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, Luke Montgomery and George Fitzpatrick.
For the second day in a row, Ohio State used split offensive lines with two of Ohio State’s projected starters, center Seth McLaughlin and right tackle Josh Fryar, leading another unit with Zen Michalski, Austin Siereveld and Tegra Tshabola. The only change to the two offensive line units between Thursday and Friday was Hinzman replacing Joshua Padilla, who dropped down to third-team duty with Hinzman back in the mix.
McLarty shows his leg
The potential of freshman punter Nick McLarty became rapidly apparent during warmups for Friday’s practice, when the native Australian uncorked a coffin-corner punt that traveled more than 75 yards before landing in the back right corner of the end zone.
Inconsistency has summed up McLarty’s first two practices as an American football player, as he’s had his fair share of mishits during each day’s punting periods. When he’s struck the ball correctly, however, the 6-foot-7, 255-pounder’s punts have traveled further than those of Anthony Venneri and Joe McGuire, his competition to be Ohio State’s top punter this year.
Other notes
- Staffers from English Premier League soccer club Manchester City attended Friday’s practice ahead of the team’s friendly match against Chelsea at Ohio Stadium on Saturday.
- Scouts from the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers and Indianapolis Colts were in attendance.
- Caleb Downs was among the Buckeyes who took reps at punt returner for the second day in a row.
Caleb Downs demonstrating his punt return ability: pic.twitter.com/8rbtPnNznI
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 2, 2024
