Nearly four cold, long months had passed since we last saw Ohio State football in action.
It was January 1, and Dwayne Haskins was carving up Washington's defense in the Rose Bowl to give Urban Meyer the sendoff he deserved. And since then, old and new faces have come together during winter conditioning and spring camp to prepare for Ryan Day's first season as head coach at Ohio State.
That process culminated on Saturday afternoon, with the Gray Team defeating the Scarlet Team 35-17 in the Buckeyes' annual spring game.
It was the first time Ohio State fans got to see new quarterback Justin Fields and some key true freshmen, highlighted by wideout Garrett Wilson.
Buckeye nation was active on Twitter. Let's take a look at the mentions.
Ryan Day
Look at Brutus foreshadowing the entirety of Bran Stark's performance in the Game of Thrones season eight opener Sunday night. Wild, man.
So many of you got hung up on the semantics of Day's "sell-out crowd" comment.
The man hasn't even coached a (non-suspension sanctioned) game and you're already out here getting hostile.
The fastest man at Ohio State would look good in pads.
Justin Fields
Let's pump the brakes here. Braxton Miller's spin move was the closest thing I've seen to art on a football field. Fields is elusive, but Miller was like a whimsical stroke from Vincent van Gogh's starry night painting.
I can confirm that 98-yard touchdown passes are pretty neat...
But imagine being the kind of human being who criticizes this play.
Sheesh, Tathan is still taking Ls in Columbus.
Garrett Wilson
Wow, the other 104 players on the roster deserve better.
He's going to be cold _and still freezing?_ That doesn't make sense.
Then read a dictionary or something.
When they look and play like Wilson? Yes, indeed.
"A long time," in this instance, is three years, FYI.