The conclusion to Ohio State’s 2026 spring practice arrives on Saturday.
The annual spring game has arrived. It will be a brief glimmer of live football action, save for perhaps a series of two of “thud” tempo, one that should be viewed as Ohio State’s coaching staff does: One of a series of data points of this year’s football team. Another practice, in essence, just one before tens of thousands of fans in the Horseshoe and Big Ten Network television cameras.
Sometimes a big spring game showing means a big season to follow for a player, other times it doesn’t – see Mylan Graham last year or Kye Stokes back in 2022. But it definitely can’t be brushed aside in one stroke. The spring game momentum gained by Julian Sayin propelled him to win the Buckeyes’ quarterback battle quickly during last preseason camp. And with a lot of starters gone from last year’s team and questions on the offensive line, there are definitely storylines to follow.
In that spirit, we’re breaking down the position battles and players to watch in the 2026 spring game, set to kick off from Ohio Stadium at noon on the Big Ten Network. Let’s dive in.
Position Battles to Monitor
A disclaimer before we dive in: The offensive line features the most important set of position battles for Ohio State this offseason. But Austin Siereveld, Phillip Daniels and Joshua Padilla are all out for the spring game, meaning that the players battling with Daniels and Padilla for starting roles – Ian Moore and Gabe VanSickle – will be starting for the Buckeyes but won’t have a point of comparison against those they are competing with. So the offensive line will not be included in this section.
Defensive Line
Three defensive tackles are vying for two starting spots in Ohio State’s defense, though all of them are likely to have rotational roles. At defensive end, it’s likely a two-man race to start alongside Kenyatta Jackson Jr. Will Smith Jr. is likely to rotate at defensive tackle, too, but is on the fringes when it comes to contending for a starting job given the two transfers the Buckeyes brought in. Surprises do happen, though. The same to Beau Atkinson at defensive end.
Otherwise, the primary three defensive tackles competing to start for Ohio State are Eddrick Houston, UCF transfer John Walker and Alabama transfer James Smith. Houston is seeking to deliver on his five-star recruiting ranking after a rough start but a stronger finish to his first full year at defensive tackle. He’s attacked the weight room to shape his body more for the role.
“I think he grew a little bit (last year),” defensive line coach Larry Johnson said of Houston on Wednesday. "He had a setback, lots of pressure on him, gotta get it done. And I think that now that he's in the best position possible. He's healthy. Now he's got a chance to play a lot of football for us. And so I think last year was a learning experience for him. ... You saw some bright moments. I think now he's gotta have all the moments going into the fall. So I'm really excited about that.”
James Smith was the No. 1 defensive tackle prospect in the transfer portal and one of the crown jewels of Ohio State’s portal haul. He picked up 28 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks at Alabama in 2025, but there’s still plenty to prove for the highly-touted player, especially in the pass rush category if he’s to start at three-tech for Ohio State.
That leaves Walker, who brings ample size to the defensive interior at 6-foot-4, 324 pounds. He’s been crosstraining at three-tech and nose guard, though the latter seems to be the better fit for him in Ohio State’s defense. He picked up a solid 40 tackles with three tackles for loss and one sack against Big 12 competition for the Knights last year.
For the defensive ends, Alabama transfer Qua Russaw and sophomore Zion Grady are the easy frontrunners to run opposite Jackson, though Atkinson and Epi Sitanilei both flashed at the Buckeyes’ student appreciation day practice. Russaw offers another dimension to the defense with the ability to operate out of a two-point stance and have some linebacker responsibilities. He was an outside linebacker in the Crimson Tide’s 3-4 defense, after all. It could carve out a role for him regardless of whether he starts.
Grady showed flashes in his 104 snaps of action as a freshman, eventually becoming the No. 3 edge rusher on Ohio State’s depth chart and surpassing Atkinson as he collected 13 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Year one to year two is often the biggest leap for a football player. It’s a matter of the level the top-100 prospect can reach as a sophomore for whether he wins a starting job.
Wide Receiver
Ohio State is projected to have another elite wide receiver train in 2026 despite losing its long-time conductor, Brian Hartline. Any wide receiver corps featuring Jeremiah Smith is going to be elite. He and Brandon Inniss are stenciled in as starters, even if Inniss’ production underwhelmed last year. He was open more than his 271 receiving yards indicate, though.
There’s a four-horse race to start alongside the duo at the Z position, however. UTSA transfer Devin McCuin, LSU transfer Kyle Parker, five-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. and criminally underrated three-star Brock Boyd are all in the hunt.
McCuin has been one of, if not the biggest standout, from the handful of practices open to the media thus far this spring. He has elite speed, as do Parker and Boyd, and looks like a joystick in the open field. He also has the most collegiate production of the bunch, albeit at the mid-major level, with 65 receptions for 726 yards and eight touchdowns for the Roadrunners in 2025.
Parker is also drawing plenty of buzz after following receivers coach Cortez Hankton from LSU this offseason. He had 31 receptions for 330 yards and four scores last season, and might be best utilized in the slot, but is plenty capable of playing the Z if he’s the best man to fill out Ohio State’s starting trio out wide.
“KP brings a mindset of physicality,” Hankton said on March 28. “Really tough with the football, high football IQ, very versatile.”
That leaves Henry and Boyd. Henry was one of the most heralded receiver recruits in his class and has the potential for dominance with his 6-foot-5 frame and skill set. Boyd ran a 21.77-second 200-meter dash and caught 3,353 yards worth of passes against elite Texas competition at Southlake Carroll High School, yet somehow landed at No. 729 in the 247Sports composite. He’s since become one of the earliest black stripe removals in Ohio State history and has been running with the second- and even first-team offense at times in practice.
Safety
Jaylen McClain is back to start at one safety spot and Florida State transfer Earl Little Jr. has essentially locked down the nickel position since his arrival on campus. The second deep safety spot is now setting up for a battle between Duke transfer Terry Moore and redshirt sophomore Leroy Roker III.
Moore transferred in viewed as the frontrunner, a second-team All-ACC safety with 71 tackles, seven tackles for loss, four interceptions and six pass breakups in 2024. He lost his 2025 season to a torn ACL, however, and faces a step up in competition at Ohio State. How he acclimates and recovers from that injury could determine whether he wins the starting job, especially with how Roker’s stock has risen this spring.
A three-star prospect out of high school, Roker made a few appearances in meaningful moments for Ohio State last year in dime packages, picking up nine tackles and a PBU. McClain and safeties coach Matt Guerrieri have both witnessed big leaps from him this March and April.
“I love Leroy,” Guerrieri said on April 8. “Leroy is a guy who has developed tremendously over the last couple of years. He has all the skills to be a very, very, very good safety. He's an awesome person. The sky is the limit for him. I know you've seen him in spurts, but he's a guy that's grown tremendously and we've seen him every step of the way. But, yeah, I'm really excited for Leroy's future. I'm proud of him and his development. It's going to be a fun ride.”
Tight End
Four players will form the top of Ohio State’s tight end depth chart: Northwestern transfer Hunter Welcing, Ohio transfer Mason Williams, redshirt senior Bennett Christian and sophomore Nate Roberts.
I wrote at the outset of spring practice that Roberts will determine the ceiling of the position group, given how much tape is out there on the other three in that primary quartet. Making his first waves with a four-reception, 41-yard performance in last year’s spring game before playing 160 snaps and emerging as the team’s fourth tight end as a freshman. He’s got the most receiving talent (and probably overall talent) of the bunch, so it’s all about how far his development has come. The spring game could be a chance to showcase some of that progress.
Williams and Christian are both blocking-oriented players and candidates to fill the void left by the ever-steady Will Kacmarek, an Ohio transfer just like Williams in 2024. Williams graded out at 66.7 as a run blocker and 73.8 as a pass blocker in 2025, Christian at 47.1 and 41. Not that PFF grades are the end-all, be-all.
Welcing graded out at 50.6 and 41.8 in those same categories. He had 28 receptions for 296 yards and two touchdowns in Northwestern’s poor offense, so better talent could mean better production if he wins out for one of the top two spots at tight end for the Buckeyes.
Christian won’t play in the spring game as he continues to recover from an injury, but Saturday will be an opportunity for Buckeye fans to see Welcing and Williams play in the Shoe for the first time.
Players to Watch
OT Ian Moore
I promised the offensive line wouldn’t be discussed in the position battles section, but this wouldn’t be an Andy Anders article without some offensive line talk. And Moore has gotten a lot of talk this spring.
Moore largely held his own when thrust into a tough spot at left tackle in the second half against Miami in the Cotton Bowl after Austin Siereveld suffered an injury. On a night when the offensive line at large struggled mightily, too. He made his first career start at right tackle in place of Phillip Daniels and Purdue and performed well. He’s in the running to start at tackle for Ohio State in 2026, and at this point, I’d say it’s more likely than not that he wins a job. Frankly, I’ve come to the opinion he’s the fourth-best offensive lineman on the team at worst – if he reaches toward his ceiling this year. He’ll be with the first team on Saturday with Siereveld and Daniels out.
“Ian's been doing an amazing job, tremendous job,” left guard Luke Montgomery said on Wednesday. “He's very explosive off the ball, very strong and a smart dude. And what I like about him is he reminds me of me with the energy. He brings a lot of energy.”
WR Brandon Inniss
While Julian Sayin didn’t throw Inniss the ball on several occasions when he was open, his final stat line of 36 receptions for 271 yards and three touchdowns definitely wasn’t the season the five-star prospect had in mind for his third year. He’s acknowledged that. His run-after-catch ability is a primary thing to work on, as with the rest of the receivers, but it’s especially important in the slot. He needs to showcase the explosion that made him so highly touted.
“Be more explosive on the offensive side of the ball, make more things happen after the catch,” Inniss said of what he's working on this offseason. “Be more of an outside receiver that can do it all.”
S Earl Little Jr.
Another player drawing a lot of praise this spring, Little is fresh off a second-team All-ACC season with 76 tackles, two tackles for loss, four interceptions and two PBUs. He’s bringing a physicality that will aid greatly in the run support duties of the nickel position. But he’s got versatile coverage skills, too, which should help Matt Patricia keep up his great array of disguises and looks. He’s perhaps the top newcomer to watch this spring game.
“Plays fast, plays twitchy, communicates well,” Ryan Day said in late March. “Did a great job in the weight room with Mick (Marotti). So, all of those things you could just see naturally as he went into the spring. You felt like this was going to go well. Then you start to see his play on the field. First time we're tackling and scrimmaging, he's the first guy showing up, making tackles and making plays, and just jumped off the screen right out of the gate. So, good for him.”
CB Devin Sanchez
The spring game could be a springboard for Devin Sanchez toward a breakout season. Photo credit: Jerome Miiron-Imagn Images
The five-star prospect is set to step into a starting role in his sophomore year. He took his lumps early as a freshman but improved as the season progressed, finishing the season with 15 tackles and two PBUs. He allowed 15 receptions for 223 yards and a touchdown in coverage, per PFF, an average of 8.9 yards per target. A ludicrously fluid athlete, he’s got star potential this year, and showcasing some lockdown skills in the spring game could provide a springboard.
Game Info
- Kickoff is at noon on the Big Ten Network.
- Tickets are $13 and can be purchased here.
- Gates open for fans at 10:30 a.m. The team will walk into the stadium at 10:50 a.m.
- Ohio State will stick to its usual offense vs. defense format under Ryan Day. The offense scores points the same as in a normal football game. The defense receives seven points for a defensive touchdown, three points for a takeaway, three points for a three-and-out, two points for a sack and one point for forcing a punt.
- The first quarter will be 15 minutes, and the second quarter 12 minutes, with regular stops and starts of the clock. After a 12-minute halftime, the third quarter will be 12 minutes and the fourth quarter 10 minutes, with timing rules to be determined by Day. A running clock will likely be deployed at some point.
