Spring football is underway at Ohio State.
Ohio State officially began spring practice on Monday, and Eleven Warriors was in attendance alongside the rest of the Ohio State beat to watch the first hour of practice before the rest of the opening practice was closed to media.
You can watch some highlights from the day in the video at the top of the page. Below, we’ve compiled our top takeaways from the hour we were able to watch, including who lined up with the first-team units at strong safety, left tackle and quarterback.
Hartford starts with first team
For at least the first hour of Ohio State’s first practice, Malik Hartford led the depth chart at strong safety.
During drills where Ohio State’s defense was in an 11-man formation on Monday, Hartford was part of the first-team secondary alongside Caleb Downs at free safety, Lorenzo Styles Jr. at nickel and Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews Jr. at cornerback.
As expected, Arvell Reese lined up alongside Sonny Styles as Ohio State’s first-team linebackers. The first-team defensive line consisted of Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry at defensive end with Eddrick Houston and Kayden McDonald at defensive tackle, though a second unit of Logan George and C.J. Hicks at defensive end with Tywone Malone and Will Smith Jr. at defensive tackle also got reps with the first-team defense.
With Hartford taking the first-team reps at SS, Jaylen McClain practiced with the second-team secondary, which also included Leroy Roker III at free safety, Aaron Scott Jr. and Devin Sanchez as the outside cornerbacks and Bryce West at nickel. Payton Pierce and Garrett Stover took second-team linebacker reps. The primary defensive line with the backup defense consisted of Dominic Kirks and Zion Grady at defensive end with Jason Moore and Eric Mensah at defensive tackle.
Austin Siereveld starts at left tackle
Ohio State’s transfer portal acquisitions didn’t take reps with the first-team offense on Monday, so the fact that Ethan Onianwa and Phillip Daniels were absent at tackle from that first group was not a surprise. What was somewhat surprising was to see redshirt sophomore Austin Siereveld playing left tackle with the first-team offense after making multiple starts at guard for the Buckeyes in 2024.
Working Siereveld at tackle, where he practiced briefly last year during preseason camp, does make sense for an Ohio State offensive line that is looking relatively thin at tackle for spring practice. Onianwa, a Rice transfer, was brought in to play left tackle and Daniels (Minnesota) will compete with Ian Moore to start at right tackle, but beyond that trio, only redshirt freshman Deontae Armstrong and midyear enrollee Carter Lowe were set to provide depth at tackle for the Buckeyes. Siereveld could give them a sixth total scholarship tackle and a more legitimate extra option in case of injuries.
The complete first-team offensive line left-to-right for Ohio State on Monday consisted of Siereveled, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman, Tegra Tshbola and Ian Moore. The second-team offensive line consisted of Onianwa at left tackle, Devonte Armstrong at left guard, Joshua Padilla at center, Gabe VanSickle at right guard and Daniels at right tackle. The third-team offensive line consisted of Carter Lowe at left tackle, Jake Cook at left guard, Simon Lorentz at center, Jayvon McFadden at right guard and Deontae Armstrong at right tackle.
Kienholz, Sayin split first-team reps at QB
Ohio State’s coaches have said that they will split reps at quarterback this spring as it holds a competition to determine who will replace Will Howard as the Buckeyes’ new starter, and it stuck to that plan on day one of practice.
Lincoln Kienholz took the first reps with the first-team offense when the Buckeyes first went into 11-man drills on offense on Monday, with Julian Sayin taking second-team reps and Tavien St. Clair running the third-team offense. On the next run through the order, Sayin led the first-team offense while Kienholz took second-team reps.
Brandon Inniss and Bryson Rodgers both took first-team reps at slot receiver alongside returning starters Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. James Peoples took the first reps at running back while Will Kacmarek and Bennett Christian took first-team reps at tight end.
Mylan Graham and David Adolph took the first reps at outside receiver with the second-team offense while walk-on Brennen Schramm and freshman De’Zie Jones split second-team reps at slot receiver. Jelani Thurman took the first reps at tight end with the second-team offense as Purdue transfer Max Klare started with the third team.
Additional notes
- Six players took punt return reps during Ohio State’s first punt period: Inniss, Tate, Downs, Smith, Rodgers and Graham, in that order. Peoples and Quincy Porter joined the punt return group during the Buckeyes’ second punt period.
- Returning star safety Caleb Downs was active in coaching up fellow safeties, even giving walk-on Ryan Rudzinski some hands-on technique instruction.
- No round of practice observations would be complete without some Smith praise, and it was clear to all observers that the rising sophomore added some muscle mass this winter as he looks to take another step from his record-breaking freshman season.
- Ohio State did a round of routes on air with all three quarterbacks throwing at once, and the side-by-side comparison exemplified the quickness of Sayin’s release. The ball left his hand noticeably quicker than Kienholz’s or St. Clair’s.
- The size of West Virginia transfer CJ Donaldson stood out in comparison to the Buckeyes’ other running backs as he is listed on Ohio State’s spring roster at 6-foot-1 and 237 pounds.
- Porter was another player who was eye-catching physically, towering above other receivers and defensive backs with his 6-foot-4 frame.
- New coaches on the field for Monday’s practice included former Ohio State safety Nate Ebner, who the Buckeyes have hired as a special teams quality control coach, and former Ohio State offensive lineman Toby Wilson.
- Walk-on running back TC Caffey was seen doing rehab work on his own as he recovers from the torn ACL he suffered last season while walk-on wide receiver Nolan Baudo wore a headset and called signals in from the sideline rather than taking reps with the receivers.
- Former Ohio State players in attendance for Monday’s practice as visitors included NFL draft prospects Tyleik Williams and Seth McLaughlin.
- A drone was present to collect additional footage of practice for Ohio State.
