Although Ohio State has had only two days of spring practice so far, you already have plenty of questions about what’s happened so far and how things will ultimately play out.
So with the Buckeyes out of town this week for spring break, I decided to request some questions from the Eleven Warriors community and take my best shot at answering them in a spring football edition of the 11W Mailbag.
After just two spring practices – only one of which was open to the media for observation – it’s still too early to have all the answers about how the season will play out this year. But going off of what we’ve seen and heard from Ohio State coaches and players so far, and looking back at what they’ve done in the past to see what they might be able to do going forward, we can nonetheless hypothesize how the rest of the spring will unfold and what that could lead to in the fall.
What changes could be coming to Ohio State’s offense and defense, which players have improved their conditioning entering this spring and how might some of the Buckeyes’ key position battles play out? Some early spring thoughts on those questions, and more, can be found below.
Thanks to the Eleven Warriors readers who, per usual, asked more good questions than I could answer here.
What players physically have stood out, based on seeing them in person, as benefiting from off-season conditioning? Obviously, Chase Young looked like a beast in those Harley Workout photos. - HotSauceCommittee
Young, whose listed weight is now 25 pounds higher (265) than it was last year, certainly stands out physically after his first winter with director of football sports performance Mickey Marotti. On the other end of the spectrum but at the same position, Jashon Cornell has clearly slimmed down and already looks physically like a defensive end – which isn’t always the case for a player making that transition from defensive tackle.
Jaylen Harris is another sophomore who really stands out physically after his first winter with Marotti – to the point where he might already be the most physically imposing wide receiver on the team. Second-year cornerback Shaun Wade looks like he has benefitted from another winter of conditioning and is ready to contribute this year after redshirting last year. And not that he wasn’t already one of the most physically imposing players on the team, but Rashod Berry looks like he has leaned down and gotten faster going into a spring in which he knows he will actually be playing tight end this season.
Are they running any plays in practice or are they just having position drills? - Keze
It won’t be during a practice window that the media is allowed to watch, but yes, the Buckeyes will run plays during spring practice. They’ll hold scrimmages, too, and experiment with all the various formations and packages that they expect to use this fall. After all, it is practice, and the Buckeyes will be trying to figure out what works best – and what doesn’t – before starting to develop their gameplans over the summer. There is certainly a greater emphasis placed on position work and skill development during the spring than there is during the fall, but the Buckeyes will certainly spend time simulating game situations and trying to master plays over the next month.
With it being year two of Wilson/Day, and with J.T. moving on, how is our offense going to evolve? Are we going to rely on the read-option as much, or are we going to see post-season 2014 offense throwing the ball more and still using our power running game (with Haskins being closer to Cardale than J.T.)? - Osurox
It’s hard to know how the offense will look until the actual games begin, and we might not really know until the Buckeyes play an opponent who can legitimately test them (likely their third game of the season against TCU in Dallas). That said, I think there really will be some distinct differences in how Ohio State’s offense looks this year from how it looked last year.
The Buckeyes won’t stray away from Urban Meyer’s core principles. They’ll still run the power spread offense they’ve had throughout his tenure, and the quarterback running game – regardless of who ends up being the starting quarterback – will still be a part of the offense. But I do think newly promoted offensive coordinator Ryan Day will have a significant influence on how the offense operates this year, and I think that will include a more pronounced downfield passing game – especially if Dwayne Haskins wins the starting quarterback job. Option plays will still be a significant part of the offense, but I don’t think they’ll rely on it as much as they did with Barrett at the helm.
Ohio State's offense could have a different look this season if Dwayne Haskins is the starting quarterback.
Do you think we are going to see the two-back set this year? - NHBuckeye
I think we will see the Buckeyes deploy a two-back set at some point this season, but it might be only for one or two plays. Do I think they will make it a regular part of their offense? The answer to that question would be no.
Honestly, I think the main reason coaches say the two-back set is a possibility every time they get asked about it is to give opposing defenses something else to prepare for. The idea of having J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber on the field simultaneously sounds good in principle, and Day and Wilson are creative enough to come up with effective plays out of that package, but I’d still expect the Buckeyes to have three wide receivers, one tight end and one running back on the field far more often than not.
While it would help solve a playing time problem, the two-back set might sound better in principle than it might actually be effective – much like the five-man defensive front that was hyped going into last season, yet was used sparingly and proved to be ineffective when it was used.
With a very deep and 'experienced' WR group... do coaches anticipate creating/exploiting specific matchups vs opponent DBs each opponent this fall? - Buck68
There is reason to believe that would be an effective strategy for the Buckeyes, given that each of their returning top six wide receivers from last season have their own strengths and weaknesses, and some of their other receivers who didn’t play much last year – see Harris, C.J. Saunders and Demario McCall – also offer varying skill sets that could present different challenges against different defenses. Certainly, there is an element that goes into each week’s game plan – at least in terms of scripted offensive plays – that tries to exploit mismatches and take advantage of weak spots on the opposing defense.
From an overall personnel standpoint, however, I wouldn’t expect to see the Buckeyes make significant changes to how they rotate their receivers from week to week based on who they are playing. Wide receivers coach Zach Smith prefers a rotation like he had last year – two receivers playing relatively equal snaps at each receiver position – and I’d be surprised if he deviated substantially from that this year, given that he has the returning talent to rotate in that fashion.
Which young receivers pass the guys who stuck around for more playing time? - KBonay
While Smith insists that his young receivers will get a chance to beat out the returning receivers, I still think that will be an uphill battle for any of them, as a less experienced receiver is going to have to clearly outperform a more experienced receiver to take his spot in the rotation. One receiver that I do believe will make a strong push, though, is Harris. And since Harris projects to play the X receiver position, I think Binjimen Victor is the receiver who could be on the hot seat in terms of keeping his spot in the rotation, and will need to prove this spring that he deserves to keep his spot on the depth chart.
Saunders and McCall certainly could push for playing time too, and there could be opportunities for McCall to see the field in a Curtis Samuel-type H-back role – as opposed to the more traditional slot receiver role that Campbell and Hill played last year. Ultimately, though, I don’t expect either of them to surpass Campbell or Hill on the depth chart.
Assuming Bowen is back to 100% does he step back in at RG? Has Knox cemented his claim on the position and must Bowen beat him out cleanly? - RunEddieRun1983
This was one of the toughest questions for me to answer in my most recent depth chart projection, because I could really see this one going either way.
Bowen performed well in six games as a starter last year – having beat out Knox, among others, to win the job – and is deserving of another opportunity to start this year. With that being said, Ohio State’s offensive line was at its best in the second half of last season – after Knox entered the lineup – and Bowen is still not back to being fully healthy, as he continues to recover from the broken leg he suffered last October. Given that, I think Knox is the frontrunner to start at right guard. But Bowen will get a chance to compete and earn that job back, and I expect it to be a close battle.
Branden Bowen should have a shot to compete for the starting right guard job, but he'll have to earn his way back into the lineup.
How are the competitions at RT and C going so far? - 703Buckeye
The starting right tackle job appears to be Thayer Munford’s to lose. Munford is already penciled in as the starter at that spot and has drawn nothing but praise from Ohio State’s coaches since arriving last summer. He’s developed faster than expected and has a ton of potential. It would be a surprise now if he’s not in the lineup come September.
The center battle, on the other hand, appears to be more wide open. The job is Brady Taylor’s to lose, but Meyer didn’t seem nearly as sold on Taylor as he was on Munford during his opening spring press conference last week. Josh Myers and Matthew Burrell should both get a shot to compete for the starting center job, and Meyer hinted last week that Joshua Alabi could even get a shot as well. I still think Taylor wins the job, because of his experience playing the position and within the program, but I wouldn’t put money on it right now.
Is the defense still more base like Schiano runs or is it incorporating some of Grinch's style and philosophy? - Cpewster
It’s too early to tell whether the Buckeyes will tweak their defensive scheme at all, but I wouldn’t expect any major changes. Grinch will have an influence on Ohio State’s defensive game planning and play calling this year, for sure, but Ohio State’s defense is still Schiano’s defense. And Grinch said in his introductory press conference that there are "probably more similarities than differences" between the defense he ran at Washington State and the defense Schiano already ran in Columbus. I would certainly expect Grinch to bring an emphasis on aggressive play, like the "Speed D" concept he spearheaded in Pullman, but that shouldn’t be a big change from the emphasis that Schiano and Ohio State’s other coaches already brought to the Buckeyes’ defense.
Can you describe the difference in coaching styles of Coach Coombs and Coach Johnson? - SoulPatrol32
There aren’t many coaches in the country who can compare to Kerry Coombs in terms of his raw emotion and intensity, so there was something noticeably missing – namely, Coombs’ voice being heard above all the rest – in Ohio State’s first spring practice last week. That said, those who have played for or coached with Johnson say that his energy is one of his best traits, too – and one could see that during the media observation window at Ohio State’s opening practice.
It’s more of a calm, controlled energy than the seemingly Red Bull-infused personality of Coombs, but I think Johnson is someone who will have a big presence too, both on the field and in the locker room. And Johnson has a reputation for building the same kind of strong, familial relationships with his players that Coombs did during his tenure at Ohio State.
How much better will the linebacking corps be this year? Can Borland Tuf it out and hold down the middle? Can Harrison hold his position down? Will Browning take a slot? Where will Keandre Jones fit in? Will Hilliard finally make a push? Will they cover a fullback/tight end? ;) - Sanantonefan
The linebacker corps is going to have to be able to cover fullbacks and tight ends, and be better as a whole, if Bill Davis wants to be employed at Ohio State in 2019. My inclination is that they will be, as Davis will have a talented two-deep of returning linebackers who now have a year under their belt with his coaching, but there’s still a lot of unknowns with this group, with Tuf Borland being the only returning linebacker who started regularly last year.
I think Borland will hold down the middle linebacker spot, and I expect Malik Harrison to hold down the starting strongside linebacker position. Baron Browning has the talent to be the best linebacker on the roster, and began the spring practicing at weakside linebacker, so my belief is that he will wrest the starting job away from Jones. Harrison and Browning could both be three-down linebackers, with Borland coming off the field in nickel packages like he did last year, but it’s also possible Jones could take one of the two nickel linebacker spots even if he doesn’t keep the starting weakside linebacker spot.
Either way, I’d expect the runner-up in the Jones/Browning battle to still see some playing time at linebacker while being a regular on special teams. I’d expect the same for Justin Hilliard as a backup middle linebacker and Pete Werner as a backup strongside linebacker. Dante Booker could be in the mix at strongside linebacker, too, but that could depend on how well he recovers after undergoing multiple shoulder surgeries.
Are you buying or selling the Jonathon Cooper hype? - Browns88
Considering that I recently wrote about how Cooper could also make a huge impact for Ohio State at defensive end, I’m buying that hype. Cooper possesses all the physical tools to be a great defensive end, and was one of the nation’s top recruits in 2016. If he went to just about any other school in the country, he’d probably already be a star; the only reason why he hasn’t played more at Ohio State is because he’s been stuck behind Nick Bosa, Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard and Jalyn Holmes.
With Bosa back for 2018, and Chase Young getting even more hype, Cooper’s still likely to be overshadowed this season, and sharing playing time with those guys will probably keep from accumulating big stats. But I do expect Cooper – in conjunction with Bosa, Young and ideally, Cornell – to keep Ohio State’s defensive end tradition going by bringing frequent pressure as a pass-rusher and providing strong play against the run.
