After Ohio State had "not a good day" according to Urban Meyer on Tuesday, the Buckeyes hit the practice field again Thursday morning for their fourth practice of the spring.
The practice was open for the media to watch the first hour. Here's a little bit of what we saw.
J.T. Barrett Participates in 7 on 7s
It's hard to tell J.T. Barrett fractured his ankle four months ago. Barrett, who Meyer said is further along in his recovery than expected, was obviously limited from contact Thursday but did participate in 7 on 7 drills.
He threw a couple nice passes, including a beautiful 20-yard touchdown pass to walk-on wide receiver Devlin McDaniel. Barrett was also picked once in the red zone drill, by sophomore safety Erick Smith.
Cardale Jones also made some strong throws in the 7 on 7 drills as he worked primarily with the first team since Barrett is still limited. Jones, like Barrett, was intercepted in the red zone drill. Vonn Bell made a diving pick against Jones.
Braxton Miller warmed up with the team and went through stretching, but did not participate in any of the throwing drills as he's still recovering from shoulder surgery. Meyer said Tuesday that Miller had been dialed back a bit.
Curtis Samuel Practicing With H-Backs
With Ezekiel Elliott sidelined following wrist surgery, many expected Curtis Samuel to work as the No. 1 running back. That was not the case Thursday, however, as Samuel was working with the wide receivers.
Remember, Samuel was recruited to Columbus as an H-back. He was catching passes right with Ohio State's presumed starter at that position, Jalin Marshall.
With Samuel working with the wide receivers, Bri'onte Dunn took the reps as the No. 1 running back. He was backed up by Warren Ball.
Several Players Limited
On Tuesday, Meyer referenced several players were part of the 2,000-rep club and thus would be limited in spring practice. That was certainly the case Thursday.
During contact drills, defensive players Darron Lee, Adolphus Washington, Joshua Perry and Joey Bosa were held off to the side going through individual workouts and went through their own separate drills.
Taylor Decker and Pat Elflein were held out of those same drills on the offensive side of the ball. Also, Jacoby Boren is being held out due to injury. Because of this, the starting offensive line, from left to right, was Jamarco Jones, Billy Price, Marcelys Jones, Evan Lisle and Chase Farris.
Elliott was also off to the side doing sprint work toward the middle of the workout, but obviously did not participate in any contact drills.
