It only took two practices of preseason camp for a frontrunner to emerge in the competition to be Ohio State’s new starting wide receiver.
After an impressive spring and a strong first day of camp, Devin McCuin was the star of Ohio State’s second preseason practice. The UTSA transfer hauled in multiple deep balls from Julian Sayin, including a long post on a bomb over the middle against Cam Calhoun in team drills, and a toe-tapping touchdown catch in the right front corner of the end zone against tight coverage from cornerback Dominick Kelly during a 7-on-7 period. Later in the practice, McCuin made another big play when he made a defender miss with a spin move for a long gain after the catch on a slant over the middle.
McCuin took most of the first-team reps at wide receiver alongside Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss during team drills on Friday. Through two days of camp, that seems to be the most likely starting trio for Ohio State at wide receiver, though Chris Henry Jr. also continues to push for a starting spot with Kyle Parker, Brock Boyd and Jerquaden Guilford also in the mix for spots in the receiver rotation.
As Ohio State is looking for a deep threat to replace Carnell Tate opposite Jeremiah Smith as well as for its receivers to make more explosive plays after the catch than they did a year ago, McCuin is showing early in camp that he has the skill set to help Ohio State in both of those areas. And he could very well end up being Ohio State’s No. 2 wideout this season as a result.
“McCuin is definitely gonna be a great player for us,” safety Earl Little Jr. said after Friday’s practice. “I feel like he’s a dog. He gets in and out of his routes smoothly. He can block. He’s physical at the point of attack.”
McCuin was far from the only standout of Ohio State’s second practice of preseason camp. While the Buckeyes moved practice indoors due to stormy weather outside Friday morning, that hardly put a damper on the day, as the Buckeyes still went through a full two-hour practice that included plenty of head-to-head offense vs. defense work as two groups of offensive and defensive players faced off simultaneously for the second straight day.
Timmons takes first-team reps at nickel
While Henry has been viewed as Ohio State’s most likely freshman starter this season, another five-star prospect from the Buckeyes’ 2026 class may be surpassing him in that category if Friday’s practice was any indication.
Freshman cornerback Jay Timmons took the majority of first-team reps at nickel during 7-on-7 and team drills when the Buckeyes had five defensive backs on the field. While Ohio State utilized a three-safety look for most of the spring with Little playing nickel alongside Jaylen McClain and Terry Moore or Leroy Roker III, Moore and Roker have spent most of the first two days of practice running with the second-team defense.
Jermaine Mathews Jr. has also taken some reps in the slot, with Dominick Kelly rotating in behind him at outside cornerback, while the Buckeyes could also use plenty of 4-3 looks this season with TJ Alford and Riley Pettijohn pushing for playing time alongside projected starters Payton Pierce and Christian Alliegro. But it certainly appears as though Timmons is trending toward playing a significant role in Ohio State’s defense right away, and Little was just the latest player to give the freshman high praise on Friday.
“He came in making plays off the bat. He’s there mentally as well as physically,” Little said. “I commend him and I tip my hat to him. He’s gonna be a great player for us.”
Offensive line experimentation continues
After Ian Moore started at left tackle and Austin Siereveld started at right guard in Ohio State’s first practice of preseason camp on Thursday, Ryan Day said the Buckeyes would continue to experiment with different offensive line combinations before settling on a starting five. Those words rang true on Friday.
Siereveld returned to left tackle, the position he played last season, for the duration of Friday’s practice, while Joshua Padilla got his chance to run with the top unit at right guard. Moore flipped to the other side of the line to play right tackle, where he split first-team reps with incumbent starter Phillip Daniels over the course of practice.
Based on what we’ve seen through two days of practice and what we’ve heard from Day over the last two weeks, it’s become apparent that there's three offensive linemen competing for two starting spots between Daniels, Moore and Padilla. Depending on who performs best between them through the first couple of weeks of camp, we could see Ohio State settle on any of the following three combinations up front:
- LT Ian Moore, LG Luke Montgomery, C Carson Hinzman, RG Austin Siereveld, RT Phillip Daniels
- LT Austin Siereveld, LG Luke Montgomery, C Carson Hinzman, RG Joshua Padilla, RT Phillip Daniels
- LT Austin Siereveld, LG Luke Montgomery, C Carson Hinzman, RG Joshua Padilla, RT Ian Moore
Ohio State’s second-team offensive line for Friday’s practice consisted of Carter Lowe at left tackle, Jake Cook at left guard, Maxwell Riley at center, Gabe VanSickle at right guard and either Moore or Daniels at right tackle. While Padilla will likely be the next man up at center this season if anything happens to Hinzman, his work at right guard on Friday opened the door for Riley, a true freshman, to get an extended look snapping the ball.
West impresses again at RB
For the second day in a row to start camp, Isaiah West was No. 1 in the pecking order at running back, taking most of the first-team reps alongside Julian Sayin and behind the first-team offensive line. West and Ja’Kobi Jackson split reps with the ones while incumbent Bo Jackson ran with Tavien St. Clair and the second-team offensive line.
West’s performance on Friday showed why he’s getting a long look with the starters. The second-year running back broke off several long runs along with the burst, vision, decisiveness and shiftiness to find small holes between the tackles for effective carries.
That doesn’t necessarily mean West has surpassed Bo Jackson on the depth chart. After all, Jackson ran for 1,090 yards last year as a freshman and had more than three times as many carries as West, giving the Buckeyes good reason to want to see what West can do in camp.
That said, West’s strong start to camp could lead to a 1A/1B rotation between the two sophomore backs, which is what Ohio State would ideally like to have – like it had with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins in 2024 – to keep both Jackson and West fresh for a playoff run. Ja’Kobi Jackson also continued on Friday to look like a player who will be part of Ohio State’s running back rotation this season, likely as the No. 3 RB, showing the speed to break off longer runs as well as good hands out of the backfield.
Additional Notes
- Among Ohio State’s defensive tackles, John Walker is the player who’s caught my eye the most through the first two practices. He disrupted multiple plays as a pass-rusher on Friday, forcing a throw-away from Sayin early in the practice.
- Brandon Inniss, Phillip Bell, De’zie Jones and Brock Boyd were Ohio State’s punt returners for the second straight day.
- NFL teams with scouts in attendance for Friday’s practice included the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Tennessee Titans.
- Ohio State men’s basketball coach Jake Diebler was inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to watch Friday’s practice.
