Under sunny skies and with a heavy dew beneath their cleats, Ohio State's freshmen, newcomers and specialists took the practice field for the first time as Buckeyes on Sunday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
The program allowed media to watch the first four sessions of the workout, which largely consisted of stretching and individual drills. With coaches yelling and trainers forcing water down their throats, the players got their first taste of what it is like to be a Buckeye.
Notes:
- Offensive lineman Michael Jordan, running back Antonio Williams and wide receiver Austin Mack did not practice this morning. They will workout in the afternoon session with the upperclassmen, which begins around 3:30 p.m.
- Redshirt freshmen that attended practice this morning: Matthew Burrell, Joshua Alabi and Alex Stump
- The first four upperclassmen to come out and watch the younger guys work out were Noah Brown, Cam Burrows, Damon Webb and James Clark
- Sam Hubbard followed shortly thereafter and went straight to the corner of the grass field that housed Larry Johnson's defensive line. His eyes focused mostly on Nick Bosa.
- Speaking of Bosa, he looks exactly like his older brother, Joey. His mannerisms, the way he walks, the way he runs, the way he tears through drills — it is almost eerie. The only difference is Nick had a large brace on his right knee and is a few inches shorter than Joey.
- Bosa also appears to be the real deal. His body is much more developed than your typical freshman and he led most of the individual defensive line drills followed closely by Jonathon Cooper.
- Players that led stretching lines: Cameron Johnston, Tuf Borland, Wayne Davis, Joshua Alabi, Jarrod Barnes, Jonathon Cooper, Demario McCall, Joe Ramstetter, Alex Stump, Matthew Burrell, Jake Hausmann
- During stretching, Kerry Coombs took it upon himself to scream "Super Fun Freshmen Sunday!" directly through the earhole of his young defensive backs.
- Junior college transfer and offensive lineman Malcolm Pridgeon looks the part. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 315 pounds, he got after it during the session we saw. Pridgeon worked at tackle Sunday morning.
- New line coach Greg Studrawa got after the young offensive line, yearning for more intensity in the form of finishing drills the right way and running through a line five yards away to complete a rep.
- It didn't appear that new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Greg Schiano stopped yelling once individual drills commenced. He and Coombs both demonstrated things before having their players go through them, particularly during fumble drills.
- During the special teams portion, Urban Meyer made the punt team redo its first snap numerous times. Players clap before they turn toward the ball, and the head coach wanted to be sure it was in unison.
- Demario McCall acted as the lone punt returner in the morning session.
- McCall took snaps with fellow freshman Dwayne Haskins in the backfield action portion of practice.
- Jack Wohlabaugh went through drills strictly at center, as expected. He worked with offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Ed Warinner.
- On the official team roster handed out Sunday morning, Mike Weber is listed as No. 20. He posted a switch to No. 25 to social media Friday night.
- Raekwon McMillan, J.T. Barrett and Pat Elflein are listed as captains on the roster. Ohio State normally does not do that because captains aren't usually decided until the end of training camp.
Ohio State's upperclassmen take the field at approximately 3:30 p.m. Sunday. A press conference with head coach Urban Meyer and quarterback J.T. Barrett is scheduled for shortly thereafter around 5:35 p.m.
Stick with Eleven Warriors for continued coverage from Day 1 of 2016 Ohio State fall camp.
