Greg Schiano is anxious. The Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach can hardly wait to see how his new employer handles scrimmage time during training camp.
"I haven't been in a preseason scrimmage here yet so I'm going to find out what our philosophy is," Schiano said Thursday. "I think I know but we'll see."
Ohio State is scheduled to host its first intrasquad matchup Saturday morning at Coffey Road Park, not even 24 hours after its first two-a-day. It is a test of individual will for each player but also a chance for coaches to take an important step in the evaluation process for starting positions.
"We get up for the scrimmage to finally see what guys can do," safety Damon Webb said Thursday. "Guys get to prove themselves, it’s the first scrimmage, it’s the first time we get to come together as a whole defense."
A slew of jobs remain up for grabs in Ohio State camp. And while you can project them any way you want, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes said they won't fixate on filling the depth chart until next week before turning their focus to Bowling Green. That is what makes Saturday so important.
“Because we are an inexperienced group, we don't get any preseason games in college, that's the closest thing you have to a preseason game.”– Greg Schiano
"Practice 12, 13 is when you start, that's when you go scout team," Meyer said Sunday. "I'd love to give every player an opportunity so the first scrimmage will be Saturday. That's after a two-a-day too."
Meyer said he and the player call their family to let them know the latter earned the right to start at Ohio State. In addition to the six starters back in the fold from the 2015 team—J.T. Barrett, Pat Elflein, Billy Price, Raekwon McMillan, Tyquan Lewis and Gareon Conley—Jamarco Jones owns the left tackle spot. Sam Hubbard is all but assured to start opposite of Lewis at end and linebackers Chris Worley and Dante Booker are in line to work alongside McMillan. More players lead to win other jobs, though the secondary remains wide open in the eyes of Schiano and Kerry Coombs outside of Conley.
"We try to get everybody a look at both sides, but we’ve got to start to zero in," Schiano said. "We’ve got a game coming up in less than a month. I think that will kind of direct the funnel a little bit."
Ohio State hosts Bowling Green Sept. 3 to kick off its 2016 slate. Erick Smith and Cam Burrows rehabbed injuries this spring to re-enter the safety battle with Webb and Malik Hooker. Curtis Samuel and Dontre Wilson did the same thing and now are at full strength at H-back. Noah Brown and Corey Smith are doing their best to show they are 100 percent back from broken legs, all while working in a crowded wide receivers room. Battles are everywhere.
"Because we are an inexperienced group, we don't get any preseason games in college, that's the closest thing you have to a preseason game," Schiano said. "You want to see who really responds when the 'lights' come on.
"You see a guy who does things in practice and really looks good but then under the game situation where they're out there by themselves and they have to deal with a lot of different variables, can they handle it and stay focused? That's the thing I'm looking for."
Rest assured that is what Meyer is looking for on Saturday as well. Schiano used to be a head coach at both the college and professional level, so his words hold weight even though his current job is to only worry about Ohio State's defense and safeties.
Football teams at any level must do their best work before the season begins in order to be ready. Because once game week rolls around, things are, as Meyer described them, "just maintenance" in addition to opponent prep.
That is why Saturday is so essential in deciphering who is going to play key roles in Columbus this fall.
"You can't really have live scrimmages on a Tuesday and Wednesday getting ready to play," Meyer said. "This three-week period it’s either this (thumbs up) or this (thumbs down)."
