After a week away for spring break, Urban Meyer's 2016 Ohio State team returned to the practice field Tuesday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Reporters got to watch the first hour of practice. Here are some observations from the offensive side of the ball. Players wore shoulder pads for the first time this spring to go with helmets, but no leg pads.
Notes:
- At the beginning of practice, Mickey Marotti shouted out A.J. Alexander and Rashod Berry's name over the loudspeaker throughout stretching.
- That led to a circle drill on the far side of the field. The matchups during the circle drill were as follows: Tuf Borland against Antonio Williams, A.J. Alexander against Rashod Berry, Torrance Gibson against Damon Arnette, Michael Jordan against Davon Hamilton, Robert Landers against Isaiah Prince, Matthew Burrell against Jalyn Holmes, Mike Weber against Jerome Baker and Austin Mack against Denzel Ward. The media was quarantined to the far corner of the field, so it was impossible to see who won these battles.
- Dontre Wilson, Marshon Lattimore, Torrance Gibson and Johnnie Dixon fielded punts once again in that order. As they caught them during the special teams portion of practice, Tony Alford whacked them with a patted bat.
- Wilson continues to be everywhere. He caught punts, snagged passes with the wide receivers and took handoffs during backfield action. It continues to look like Ohio State is preparing to feature him in its offense this fall provided he stays healthy.
- Noah Brown and Curtis Samuel stood stagnant and caught passes from the quarterbacks during individual drills. Brown took it upon himself to try and catch each one with one hand.
- Mike Weber, Antonio Williams, Dontre Wilson and Patrick Wise took handoffs from the quarterbacks in backfield action from the quarterbacks in that order. Bri'onte Dunn was on the practice field, but did not do drills into the team portion of practice that we saw. He began practice on a stationary bike.
- The first string offensive line during the team portion was as follows left to right: Jamarco Jones, Billy Price, Pat Elflein, Demetrius Knox, Isaiah Prince.
- K.J. Hill still has a cast on his wrist and wore an orange jersey. He still ran routes, and caught a few passes with one hand.
- During 7-on-7s, A.J. Alexander laid a good block on a screen pass that led to Ed Warinner sprinting over in excitement.
- J.T. Barrett looked sharp, but did sail some passes high. Some were also dropped.
- Torrance Gibson dropped one pass, but there was solid defense by Gareon Conley. Conley also picked off Joe Burrow in front of Austin Mack.
