After two closed practices on Tuesday and Wednesday, Ohio State allowed the media back in to watch its seventh practice of preseason camp on Thursday.
With the Big Ten Network also in attendance for a stop on its annual training camp tour, Ohio State practiced for three full hours on Thursday morning as the Buckeyes are ramping up their intensity now a full week into August practice. Thursday’s practice included more contact than we saw during the first four practice as the Buckeyes had a period of practice devoted to tackling and blocking technique, several periods of inside drill work and multiple periods of red-zone team drills.
Overall, the defense got the better of the offense during Thursday’s practice for the most part. That was particularly true in the trenches, in large part because Ohio State’s offensive line was undermanned due to an illness going through the unit.
With Josh Simmons and George Fitzpatrick both sidelined from practice and Zen Michalski also leaving early, Austin Siereveld spent most of the day running as the first-team left tackle. Joshua Padilla was the first-team left guard for most of the practice as Donovan Jackson was present but did not participate in team drills as one of several veterans who had light practice days on Thursday. Tegra Tshabola took most of the first-team reps at right guard with Luke Montgomery also mixing in, as Carson Hinzman missed practice for the second time in seven days.
Deontae Armstrong, Ian Moore and Miles Walker split the second-team reps at offensive tackle due to the absences at the position on Thursday, though Armstrong also left practice early. Devontae Armstrong, who had lined up only at guard in the first four practices, saw some work at center with the backup offensive lines.
Siereveld and Padilla were among the offensive linemen who stayed in for multiple drives in a row at times due to the lack of available depth for Thursday’s practice, and Ryan Day gave them a post-practice shoutout for their efforts.
“A couple guys on the offensive line had to double up, and I called them out after practice and gave them a shout out because that wasn't easy,” Day said. “It wasn't all perfect, but they were tough and gritty and really gutted it out.”
Defensive line dominates
Even though Tyleik Williams and JT Tuimoloau didn’t participate in team drills as they spent most of Thursday’s practice doing individual work, Ohio State’s defensive line imposed its will throughout most of the day.
The Buckeyes’ defensive tackle depth stood out in particular. Hero Kanu blew up a two-point conversion attempt in the team’s situational drill – where a siren was sounded and both the offense and defense dropped everything to run the two-point play – and also collapsed the pocket on a passing down to result in a Jack Sawyer sack.
Jason Moore batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage and blew up several plays. Tywone Malone looked like he belonged, recording a sack near the end of practice and shining in pass rush one-on-ones.
At defensive end, Mitchell Melton received some first-team reps with Tuimoloau not practicing and continued to exhibit pass-rush ability. Caden Curry ripped off a nice spin move in pass rush one-on-ones to beat Siereveld. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. went down with a lower-body injury during a one-on-one rep, but was able to get back up and jog around though he did not return to live action.
One of the most eye-catching players off the edge on Thursday, however, was true freshman Eddrick Houston. He crashed down the line to blow up a run down the middle during one team portion and found consistent pressure against some of Ohio State’s backup offensive tackles.
Howard followed by Brown in quarterback rotation
While Ohio State hasn’t named a starting quarterback yet, Thursday’s practice presented more evidence that the Buckeyes seem to be closing in on making Will Howard their starter. He took just about all of the reps behind the first-team offensive line on Thursday, save for one series where he was replaced by Julian Sayin after Denzel Burke picked off an underthrown short pass by Howard.
Devin Brown, meanwhile, took the large majority of reps with the second-team offense. Day indicated after practice that the Buckeyes have narrowed the competition to start at quarterback down to Howard and Brown, and didn’t deny that Howard has taken a step forward in that competition even though he wasn’t ready to name Howard the starter yet.
“We've been mixing it up a little bit, but you're starting to see (Will) and Devin get a little bit more lion's share of the reps with the ones,” Day said. “I will say that Will really has taken some strides here in the last couple of practices, taking control of the offense, making plays on third down. Again, hasn't won the job, but we have seen some positive play there.”
Will Howard continues to look like the frontrunner to start at quarterback.
Behind Howard and Brown, Lincoln Kienholz took most of the snaps with the third-team unit on Thursday. Sayin didn’t see as many reps on Thursday as he had during Ohio State’s first four practices, though he still delivered the two best throws of the day – a deep ball over Joey Velazquez to Gee Scott Jr. running a wheel route down the right sideline, and another beautiful throw lofted over coverage on a deep ball to Bryson Rodgers on the right side late in practice.
Air Noland continued to take the fewest reps among the scholarship quarterbacks as he did during the first four practices.
Tight ends stand out as receivers
Much has been made of how Ohio State’s wide receivers have stood out in practices so far this August – and they had their moments on Thursday, particularly when Jeremiah Smith caught a deep ball over Davison Igbinosun on a deep ball up the left sideline from Howard – but it was the tight ends who stood out most in the passing game on Thursday.
Jelani Thurman caught a pair of touchdown passes in the red zone during team drills, showing his potential to be a weapon in that area of the field. Day said after practice, however, that Thurman still needs to be more consistent in executing his assignments if he’s going to earn a major role at tight end.
“Jelani has the talent. You've heard me say this before, but he has the talent and you can watch a five-to-10 play cut-up and be very, very impressed. But he needs to be consistent,” Day said. “It's all the no-talent issues with him. It's the focus. He made some plays, but then there were some plays that we gotta make that weren't.”
Will Kacmarek also moved the chains with several catches on Thursday, including one of the longest catches of the day on a deep corner route from Howard. While Day made it clear he still wants to see more from Thurman, Kacmarek is seemingly doing what he needs to do to earn substantial playing time at tight end alongside Scott.
“They're both gonna play,” Day said.
Additional notes
- Nick McLarty continued to be inconsistent during punting periods. While his leg strength stands out among the three punters competing to be Ohio State’s top guy this year, his mishits have also stood out as Joe McGuire and Anthony Venneri have been reliable in striking the ball accurately.
- Cody Simon was another veteran who was held out of team drills on Thursday. Gabe Powers and Arvell Reese split first- and second-team reps at Mike linebacker in Simon’s place.
- Jordan Hancock had another excellent practice on Thursday, recording multiple PBUs during 7-on-7 and team periods.
- Calvin Simpson-Hunt had another strong day in coverage and collected a PBU before getting beat on a deep ball from Brown to Jayden Ballard.
- One day after losing his black stripe, Jaylen McClain mixed in with the second-team defense at strong safety, splitting reps at that spot with Jayden Bonsu along No. 2 free safety Malik Hartford. McClain also took most of the third-team reps at free safety alongside Keenan Nelson Jr.
- Wide receiver David Adolph, who was recently placed on scholarship according to a report this week, showed why on Thursday as he made several leaping grabs including a touchdown catch in the red zone from Kienholz.
- Scouts from the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders attended the practice.
