Ohio State and Block O, the official student section for Ohio State athletics, held its annual Buckeye Kickoff event for students on Thursday at Ohio Stadium.
As a part of the event, students were able to watch part of the practice session in the Shoe, so while the event was closed to the media at large, Eleven Warriors' student representatives were able to get a look at the Buckeyes' preparation for next weekend's season opener, giving another look at how the depth chart could stack up right now.
The students weren't allowed to get close enough to the field to see everything, but here's what we were able to take away:
Offense
Justin Fields, now officially the starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, took all of the first-team reps in both the seven-on-seven and team portions of practice. Joining him in the backfield was, for the most part, J.K. Dobbins. Demario McCall subbed in for him at different times in the team session.
Thayer Munford, Jonah Jackson, Josh Myers, Wyatt Davis, and Branden Bowen took the first-team reps on the offensive line. It appears likely that Bowen will be the starter at right tackle after an offseason battle with Nicholas Petit-Frere, who took the second-team reps, though Ohio State coach Ryan Day said earlier this week that he expects both to see playing time at the position.
At wide receiver, Binjimen Victor, K.J. Hill, and Chris Olave took all of the first-team reps during the team session. Austin Mack, who has been sidelined by an undisclosed injury, went through individual workouts but did not see the field during the seven-on-seven or team sessions.
Defense
Jonathon Cooper, who underwent surgery for a leg injury earlier this week according to an unconfirmed report by Lettermen Row's Tim May, was absent from practice. Javonte Jean-Baptiste, Alex Williams and Zach Harrison were among the defensive ends who took reps in his place opposite Chase Young with the first-team defensive line.
As for the linebackers, Tuf Borland did not take any seven-on-seven or team snaps. Baron Browning took his snaps with the first-team defense at middle linebacker, suggesting the rotation could look similar to last year's group. Malik Harrison and Pete Werner took most of the first-team reps at the outside linebacker spots.
In the secondary, the defense mostly played three cornerbacks and one deep safety with Jeffrey Okudah, Damon Arnette, and Shaun Wade playing on the receivers and Jordan Fuller in centerfield.
