It’s hard to take much from a spring game.
It’s even more difficult when there is no tackling.
That was the case Saturday in Ohio State’s spring game, however, as the Buckeyes played a game of two-hand touch. In the end, it was the Scarlet team that came out on top over Gray with a 38-31 victory thanks to three touchdown passes from backup quarterback Joe Burrow.
Observations from the Scarlet squad can be seen here. As far as Gray goes, here are some thoughts from the losing team's performance:
- In the early going, Ohio State’s new H-back, Parris Campbell, was very active. Campbell was targeted early and often by J.T. Barrett and finished with five catches for 46 yards. All of those came on the first couple of drives.
- J.T. Barrett started the game at quarterback and only played three series. He led an easy touchdown drive on the opening series and the second ended in a field goal. Barrett's third drive, however, ended in an interception as he was hit by Sam Hubbard and the ball floated away and was picked by Damon Arnette.
- Overall, Barrett finished the day 8-for-12 passing for 71 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was efficient for the most part, though he did overthrow a wide open Brendon White on one of the series. He also threw the pick, but that wasn't really his fault as it looked like his arm was hit by Hubbard after he beat Matt Burrell.
- Enter Dwayne Haskins, who saw the rest of the snaps for the Gray team after Barrett exited. Haskins finished 26-for-37 passing overall for 293 yards and three touchdowns. His release is certainly silky smooth.
- Two of Haskins' touchdown passes went to Terry McLaurin, who beat both freshman cornerbacks — Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade — for his scores. McLaurin finished with four catches for 80 yards and the two scores.
- Eric Glover-Williams had a strong second half from the H-back spot. Glover-Williams, who transitioned over from defensive back, had seven catches for 64 yards in the game.
- We didn't get to see a ton of running from Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins. Weber had just five carries for 13 yards and Dobbins had three carries for 16. Dobbins also found the end zone for his first-ever touchdown. Hard to get a gauge on Weber's improvement considering he didn't get many touches.
- Defensively, I thought Justin Hilliard and Jonathon Cooper had the best games for the Gray team. Hilliard was credited with a team-high seven tackles including one where he completely nailed a ball carrier for a five-yard loss. Cooper had the lone sack on the day for the Gray team.
- Demario McCall scored on a 40-yard wheel route where there was a blown coverage by the Gray team. It looked like safety Erick Smith got caught up in the middle of the breakdown.
- Kendall Sheffield was beaten deep for a touchdown by Johnnie Dixon in the first half. Sheffield responded, though, and played pretty well the rest of the way at corner.
