Ohio State's spring game is sticking with the same format head coach Ryan Day has consistently opted for in recent years.
The Buckeyes will divide up their roster by offense and defense – offense will be the "Scarlet" side and defense will be the "Gray" – and they will face off against each other in a scrimmage open to the public at Ohio Stadium. Day will have his established veterans play "thud" tempo without tackling for the first couple of series before going full-go afterward.
"We'll break up offense and defense, and the first part of that will be thud for some of the guys who have played a lot of football," Day said. "But we'll be doing that. And then once that happens, after a few drives, we'll get right into it and we'll be tackling. The quarterbacks will not be live. But everybody else will. And it'll look like a normal spring game."
It was unclear at the start of spring if Day would keep a similar format for the spring game to previous years, wanting to conserve his players' bodies after a long season and dubbing the exhibition a spring 'showcase' rather than a spring game. As spring progressed, however, he realized his young team needs more preparation with a Week 1 tilt with Texas on the horizon. The name of the event, which was initially dubbed a spring showcase, switched back to 'spring game' in kind.
"Coming off of last year, my initial first two weeks after the season was, 'OK,' – I wasn't even thinking about anything moving forward – 'Boy, we have to take a step back in spring,'" Day said. "We just played 16 games. It's a long year. We have to be really smart. Our roster goes to 105. We can't afford to lose anybody. Got about a week-and-a-half into spring and realized, the guys who left played a lot of football, the majority of these guys haven't played a lot of football. ... It's actually become one of the most physical spring balls we've ever had."
Ohio State's spring game will kick off at noon Saturday and will be broadcast by Big Ten Network and 97.1 The Fan. Tickets remain available on Ohio State’s athletics website.
