The Opening Drive 4/17: Spring Game Preview
Storylines to Look For on Saturday
We Buckeye fans treat the spring game like a normal fall Saturday. It doesn’t matter that it’s us versus us, not us versus them. It’s football, in Ohio Stadium, on a Saturday. That’s what drives the great state of Ohio. Rather we get excited about a new face, a new coach, or some new wrinkle we hope to see from the offense. With 51 new players, position battles on both sides of the ball, a new offensive coordinator, and coming off of a disappointing end to the previous season there are plenty of things to look for. I wanted to dive into some of the storylines to keep an eye on during the spring game on Saturday.
The Players to Watch:
OT Sam Greer: The highly touted Freshman can work toward securing a backup role I would think. OSU hasn’t had a freshman lineman hit campus with this much buzz in a minute.
DT Will Smith Jr.: The offseason has been filled with praise for James Smith and John Walker. However, Will Smith Jr. has a chance to remind fans and coaches that he’s still here.
CB Jay Timmons: Timmons has been all the buzz on the defensive side of the ball, with respect to the freshman. The smoke tells us that the starting corners are cemented but Timmons is going to see the field this season. Now it comes down to the capacity in which that happens.
WR’S Kyle Parker, Devin McCuin, Chris Henry Jr., and Brock Boyd: We know that Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss have slots in the receiver rotation. After that we have no clue what things look like. These 4 guys have a chance to show who should become that 3rd receiver, along with the pecking order for the rotation. All 4 guys also come into Saturday with a blend of hype and expectations.
Edges Khary Wilder and Epi Sitanilei: There has been a lot of smoke coming out of spring practice about these two guys. Wilder comes in highly-rated, while Sitanilei is entering his second season. Edge is a position of concern, given the amount of question marks behind Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
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The Position Groups to Watch:
Offensive Line: Given the injuries and uncertainty that has emerged due to injuries and not being able to have a full room this group will be watched a lot.
Quarterbacks: This one might be a surprise to most of you guys. But, we know who is starting already. This group isn’t going to be watched for position battle reasons, but for seeing how Tavien St. Clair looks, and how he has progressed.
Defensive Line ( Edge specifically): I don’t anticipate seeing much of Kenyatta Jackson. However, every other edge behind him has something to work for. A position group that was somewhat of a weakness last year now has the chance to be a strength.
What Will Arthur Smith Show?
It’s going to be hard to truly see what the offense will look like given the lack of time the starters will be on the field. But, there will be plenty nuggets that will show us what Smith plans to do offensively. As Slate and I have discussed, and from the comments made during media with the offensive line I would expect to see some of the new run fits. However, given the lack of bodies in the running back room available on Saturday, I don’t think that will be the case. I also don’t think that’s a terrible thing, as it seems there have been suggestions that the run scheme is still a work in progress. I wouldn’t put too much stock in anything we see on Saturday, good or bad for multiple reasons.
Buckeye Film Breakdown will return soon with some fresh content.
