Ohio State returned to the practice field for the first time in 110 days on Thursday, and Eleven Warriors was at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to watch the opening practice of preseason camp from start to finish.
The day ended on a sour note when projected starting defensive tackle Eddrick Houston had to be helped off the field due to an apparent lower-leg injury, making the defensive tackle position an even bigger concern than it already was entering camp. But there were plenty of other positives to take away from the day, including multiple standouts elsewhere on the defensive line.
We break down all of our top takeaways from the first day of preseason camp below.
Atkinson, Sitanilei shine in first practice as Buckeyes
Beau Atkinson was arguably the best player on the field in his first practice as a Buckeye.
The North Carolina transfer defensive end stood out throughout Ohio State’s opening day of camp, batting down several passes and disrupting plays in the backfield consistently. On a day where Ohio State split both its offense and defense up into two split-team squads, Atkinson went up against both of Ohio State’s projected starting offensive tackles – Ethan Onianwa and Austin Siereveld – and looked the part of a player ready to contribute right away on the Buckeyes’ defensive line.
“I think he wants to prove, and I think a lot of these guys want to prove themselves at Ohio State because they feel like if they make it here, they can make it anywhere. I think he's had that mindset coming in. His teammates have really rallied around him,” Ryan Day said after Thursday’s first practice.
Day also praised Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Caden Curry and C.J. Hicks, who split the top reps among defensive ends between squads on Thursday. Atkinson was paired with Curry and Jackson was paired with Hicks, though that doesn’t necessarily mean anything in regards to who will play together the most this year as Ohio State split its starters between squads for Thursday’s opening practice.
Further down the depth chart, another defensive end who stood out in his first practice as a Buckeye was true freshman Epi Sitanilei. While he went up primarily against backup offensive tackles in his first day of camp, Sitanilei – who could easily be mistaken for JT Tuimoloau, despite being a bit smaller, with his long hair coming out of his helmet and the No. 44 on the back of his jersey – popped time and time again throughout the practice as he blew up several plays in the backfield.
While Sitanilei isn’t likely to play a major role as a freshman with Jackson, Atkinson, Curry, Hicks and Logan George expected to lead the defensive end depth chart, his first practice as a Buckeye suggested he’ll be a player to watch going forward.
Not much separation in quarterback competition
The top storyline entering preseason camp for Ohio State remains the starting quarterback competition between Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz. With one day in the books, neither gained an obvious edge on Thursday, especially without full pads on and full contact.
“It’s just a start,” Day said after practice. “We’re just getting moving around. So, hard to tell. I do think all three of them (Sayin, Kienholz and Tavien St. Clair) look a little bit stronger, a little bit more explosive. Moving better. A little bit more command of the huddle. But we’ll watch the film and kind of go from there. Day one without pads, it’s kind of hard (to evaluate).”
Sayin struggled early in practice during 7-on-7 redzone drills, tossing an interception to cornerback Davison Igbinosun and overthrowing running back Samuel Dixon on a wide-open wheel route, but found some rhythm during 11-on-11 later on. Sayin and wide receiver Carnell Tate connected several times and seem to be developing some chemistry.
Kienholz had a high completion rate and had perhaps the most impressive throw of the day, splitting double coverage on a post route to Jeremiah Smith. A precise pass on an out route to wide receiver Mylan Graham, who continues to stand out after a huge spring, was another highlight for Kienholz.
Notably, Kienholz had the benefit of throwing to Smith during team drills while Sayin did not, as Sayin and Kienholz worked on separate fields during 11-on-11 work, allowing them to get an equal number of reps.
Ohio State’s offense stayed vanilla with a bevy of underneath passes to give the duo confidence, though both attempted a deep shot or two. How they perform on downfield throws will be a key storyline through the Buckeyes’ next two practices open to the media.
Caleb Downs primarily plays nickel
Caleb Downs, Ohio State’s returning unanimous All-American free safety, moved all around the Buckeyes’ defense and opened up some of its best play in the back half of 2024. During Thursday’s practice, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia had him aligned at nickel nearly all day.
Whether it becomes a permanent fixture for Downs, who will undoubtedly play all over the field for Ohio State again in 2025, remains to be seen. But it creates an interesting potential starting lineup for the secondary.
Exiting spring practice, Lorenzo Styles Jr. was the first-team nickel with Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain competing to start alongside him and Downs at strong safety. Downs playing nickel would place Hartford at free safety and McClain at strong safety in the Buckeyes’ base 4-2-5 defense.
Both Hartford and McClain came out of spring with a lot of momentum, so it makes sense that Ohio State would toy with a lineup that gets them both on the field together. That said, there was no clear starting lineup in the secondary on Thursday, as the Buckeyes split their first and second teams for reps throughout practice. Styles played nickel with one group while Downs played it with the other.
The nickel position would be an interesting use of Downs’ skill set, even if only in some packages, though he aligned there in a few spots last season. An elite run defender with his coverage skills, getting him closer to the ball had plenty of benefits for the Buckeyes during the College Football Playoff. Patricia had star New England safety Patrick Chung play a similar role for some elite Patriots defenses during the 2010s.
Other notes and observations
- Freshman defensive tackle Maxwell Roy was not seen practicing on Thursday.
- Ohio State had five players working on punt return: Graham, Smith, Tate, Brandon Inniss and freshman running back Anthony “Turbo” Rogers.
- Freshman running back Bo Jackson continued to impress, splitting defenders with a big burst through the line of scrimmage for a big gain on one of his runs.
- Five-star freshman cornerback Devin Sanchez had one of the day’s best pass breakups to prevent Sayin from completing a well-thrown deep ball to Carnell Tate along the left sideline.
- Jeremiah Smith, true to Ryan Day’s words at Big Ten Media Days, looks bigger, stronger and somehow faster than last year. His separation on routes and dangerous after-the-catch running were on full display.
- The projected starting offensive linemen were mixed between two groups on Thursday. Left tackle Ethan Onianwa, center Carson Hinzman and right tackle Austin Siereveld were paired with left guard Jake Cook and right guard Gabe VanSickle while left guard Luke Montgomery and right guard Tegra Tshabola were grouped with left tackle Ian Moore, center Joshua Padilla and right tackle Phillip Daniels.
- New fourth-string quarterback Eli Brickhandler had a rough first practice as a Buckeye. During one set of split-team drills, Brickhandler had to run laps after back-to-back series for throwing an interception to walk-on safety Ryan Rudzinski and fumbling a handoff to Samuel Dixon.
- Inconsistency continued to be a challenge for redshirt freshman punter Nick McLarty as he had several booming punts that showed off his leg strength but also had several noticeable mishits.
