The Ohio State Buckeyes will kick off their annual Spring game tomorrow, April 13, at the Shoe at 12pm. It will also be the first time ever that any Spring Game will be nationally televised, as Fox will carry the game with some familiar faces on the sidelines, as well as in the booth, including Urban Meyer and Joel Klatt.

To say this offseason was a quiet one for the Buckeyes would be an understatment. Since their loss to Missouri in the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State has been hyper aggresive in getting the best talent both on and off the field. Star players such as Will Howard, Caleb Downs, and Quinshon Judkins will shed their former team colors and all have already lost their black stripe since Spring practice has begun, and are officially Buckeyes. The Buckeyes also signed the best recruit in the country with wide-receiver Jeremiah “JJ” Smith, who has already been making highlight plays in practice and earning his way for playing time. 

Off the fields, the Buckeyes lost Tony Alford to TTUN, Corey Dennis, and Parker Fleming, as well as newly hired Bill O’Brien, who was the offensive coordinator for two weeks before taking the Boston College job. The Buckeyes replaced that staff with upgrades, and added Matt Guerrieri as the safeties coach, promoted James Laurinaitis as the linebackers coach, Chip Kelly as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, and just added Carlos Locklyn from Oregon to be the new running backs coach. 

With all of these changes, and additions, and moves, we are excited to see how much different this team will look from December 29th, 2023, to April 13th, 2024. The Spring game wont be a complete look at this team, as a lot of the upperclassmen will be on a snap count, but we are looking forward to seeing how the new talent will look, and are looking forward to seeing these three things above the others to help get a better idea of this team.

Top Three Things to Watch For:

1. Quarterbacks

After the end of the regular season, and a day after the CFP made their selections for the playoff, Kyle McCord entered the transfer portal, and was picked up by Syracuse. In the bowl game we got to see Devin Brown get his chance, but was hurt in the first half of the game due in large part to an offensive line that couldn’t not block or get and type of pass protection, and reaggravated the injury Brown suffered during the regular season. Lincoln Keinholz had an opportunity to showcase his ability, but was also limited due to the same pass protection and understanding of the playbook. Will Howard is coming in from Kansas State as a quarterback with nearly 5 years of experience, and has a bigger frame which will allow him to be more involved in the run game. For the recruiting class, Ohio State expected and signed Air Noland, but then got an addition in the top quarterback of the 2024 class with Julian Sayin, who was with Alabama, but after Nick Saban retired, it opened up the portal for Sayin, Downs, and center Seth McLaughlin to come to Ohio State. Based on the reports from practices from the Ohio State beat, Devin Brown and Will Howard have been rotating mostly with the first team, and Julian Sayin and Lincoln Keinholz have been rotating with the twos. The past few weeks though, especially since losing his black stripe, Julian Sayin has emerged as a player who might get a chance to compete as the starter, a spot where many feel Will Howard will have since transfering to the Buckeyes. It has already been confirmed with Day that Howard will be on a snap count, along with Brown, so this could be a chance to see the quarterback battle between Sayin and Keinholz. 

2. Jeremiah Smith

I dont think it is fair to write off the progress that has been coming out from the Ohio State camp about the strides Bryson Rodgers, Jayden Ballard, and Carnell Tate have been making, but the name that is brought up often is Jeremiah Smith. He was the number 1 recruit in the class for a reason, which is even more of an accomplishment being a wide-receiver named in a quarterback dominated spot, but his size and speed, and catching ability has been a highlight reel from the social media team. Losing Marvin Harrison Jr was expected, and opened a hole for the starting 3 receivers, but Jeremiah Smith might have locked it up without playing a single game. Being a freshman and his first Spring Game, you can be sure the offensive staff will do anything they can to showcase the human highlight reel who will be going against second team and walk-ons, which is unfair in its own right based on him making plays against the first team secondary.