No Land For Old QBs....Will THE Scarlet & Gray Bounce Byke? It's Up in the Air I'm just Sayin: 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes Thread

Will order be restored to this Urban area or will Day play it 2 close to The Vest?

  • B1G Chip or Bust!

    Votes: 10 76.9%
  • Playoffs?!

    Votes: 6 46.2%
  • OVOJim hunched ova like he 80 dat boi is sick sick sick, how much time scum got? Tick tick tick...

    Votes: 5 38.5%

  • Total voters
    13

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Isn't it? :mjlol:
 

MustafaSTL

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I got the ticket package for all the conference home games so I'm gonna try to go to all of them.

Def not missing when we break that streak against those flukes up north
I’ll be at at least three games, might make it four. Akron, Iowa, and scUM games for sure. Maybe the Nebraska game too.
 

MustafaSTL

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+ At quarterback a common observation is that Ohio State is going to do more with the quarterbacks and their legs this year. Whether it’s more movement of the pocket, options, or designed runs, no matter who is back there, that’s been clear early.


+ Speaking of who is back there, I continue to hear Will Howardwill be the guy and taking the majority of reps on Saturday (all but one) with the first team is obviously a strong indicator there. Devin Brown continues to have some “wow” moments, especially in the deep passing game, but Howard is the most overall consistent in everything and that, combined with his athleticism/mobility and experience make him an easy front-runner right now. As Spencer and Andy have reported, he also now has more command of the offense and that should continue to improve.


+ No knock on TreVeyon Henderson, and he’s expected to have a big year, but I just continue to get rave reviews on how special Quinshon Judkins can/will be. James Peoples getting some nice love from my sources early too—they think he’s going to be able to contribute nicely this year.


+ High expectations and lots of confidence in having a deep receiver room this year but Carnell Tate has been the guy standing out the most to one source of mine in camp, thus far.


+ I am told that the Ohio State offensive line started out a bit slow the first couple of days, but had much stronger days three and four. The staff is very pleased with what they’ve seen so far, especially at the bookends. The depth at tackle is not there, though, at least right now.


+ The right guard battle continues to go on and it seems that will spill into next week, at a minimum. I’m told they’d really like to have their guy by the end of this week, and at worst the week after. The former would give them two full weeks of camp and then a week of game prep to fully gel with the rest of the first unit. Two sources I asked were split on whether they’d pick Carson Hinzman or Tegra Tshabola, so this thing is close, and they’ll take it as long as they have to in order to ensure the best guy is playing. Hinzman probably has a leg up today, in my opinion from info gathered, but it seems like Tegra is trending up.


+ Defensive line has been as strong as expected thus far. Jack Sawyerhas been named as a guy who has taken a big leap forward. "He looks like a man on a mission" was the quote I got, with the person adding, "now that the position switch stuff (JACK in 2022) is behind him, he's full speed ahead".


+ Mitchell Melton has been very impressive as well, per a source. One other source said “he has the quickest first step on the unit”.


+ One of the sources said while they won’t be the main guys playing, that they really like the potential of some of the younger defensive tackles like Kayden McDonaldand Jason Moore.


+ While Ohio State is saying it’s close at Will linebacker, my source would be stunned if Sonny Styles isn’t the guy when two linebackers are on the field. My source thinks there will be a role for all four guys competing but that Styles and Cody Simonwill be the main two you see in base. But with Styles’ versatility they can get creative to get CJ Hicks on the field with him, and also use Gabe Powers possibly against heavy run teams (think Iowa).


+ Defensive backs have been very good thus far. Caleb Downs is as good as advertised. While Denzel Burke, Jordan Hancock, and Jermaine Mathews have had strong camps thus far, the guy who has impressed one source the most is Davison Igbinosun. Our guys have reported this but Ohio State freshman safety Jaylen McClain “always has his nose around the ball” and has “flashed the most at safety outside of the starters”. He’s not in the top group at corner, but a source mentioned Calvin Simpson-Hunt as well as turning a corner in his career development.


+ Jayden Fielding has the kicker job locked up but at punter there’s some difference of opinion from sources on preference. Nick McLarty’s best punt is better than anyone else’s but as he continues to make a transition to high level American football, some prefer the consistency and experience of Buffalo transfer Anthony Venneri for the 2024 season at Ohio State. This is a battle that will continue on.
From Gleitman
 

MustafaSTL

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The New Guard​

The Buckeye offensive line continues to take shape, though there is still a competition going on at right guard. On Saturday, it was redshirt sophomore Carson Hinzman with the ones at right guard. Today, Hinzman and redshirt sophomore Tegra Tshabola both got time with the ones at right guard.

That competition now looks like a two-man battle as sophomore Luke Montgomery has been playing center almost exclusively now. So much so that Montgomery was even at center with the ones for a few snaps with Hinzman and center Seth McLaughlin playing guard on each side of him.

This was perhaps the first time McLaughlin has taken any snaps at guard this week. He is clearly the starting center at this point. McLaughlin has been very good in one-on-one drills as well.

The question now is whether Montgomery can play the position well enough to truly be the No. 2 center, as opposed to simply sliding Hinzman back over should something happen to McLaughlin.

Emptying The Notebook​

+ There is still a question as to who the first offensive tackle off the bench would be should a starter leave the game. Redshirt junior Zen Michalski is the No. 2 left tackle and redshirt sophomore George Fitzpatrick is the No. 2 right tackle. The answer will likely come from one of those two players.

+ Devin Brown made a very nice deep throw down the left sideline while scrambling left but it was just out of receiver David Adolph’s reach. Brown did connect on a deep shot to redshirt junior Jayden Ballard. Brown lofted the ball up as quickly as he could and Ballard fought off redshirt freshman cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt, who tipped the ball but Ballard was still able to corral it for the big gain.

+ Redshirt sophomore defensive end Kenyatta Jackson was impressive during one-on-ones. He’s always been a talented speed rusher but is continually developing his overall skill set.

+ The running backs all had their moments today. Freshmen Sam Williams-Dixon and James Peoples continue to impress onlookers and coaches. People are feeling better about the depth situation but the numbers are still the numbers.

+ Calvin Simpson-Hunt intercepted Devin Brown on an overthrow over the middle of the field. There is no worse place to throw the ball high than the middle of the field.

+ If the ball is near Carnell Tate, he catches it. He has very strong hands and doesn’t get pushed around by corners.

+ Obligatory Jeremiah Smith mention for Google purposes. He didn’t do anything superhuman today that I saw — and that is okay. He was just the regular kind of human who is good enough to start at Ohio State as a true freshman.
From Tony Gerdeman
 

MustafaSTL

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Update from the Saturday scrimmage from Alex G:

Ohio State has been in training camp for about 10 days now as they prepare to chase a national title during the 2024-2025 college football season.


While most positions on the roster are fairly set, there are still a number of position battles going on, and the team still has work to do to get where they want to be come August 31st's opener against Akron.


A big step towards getting there happened on Saturday, as the team underwent it's first scrimmage of training camp, which is usually when you start to see separation between those in position battles, as well as which units are ahead of others.


Sources around the WHAC have been fairly tight-lipped during camp thus far, but Lettermen Row was able to get a few tidbits out of some folks to provide what we're hearing regarding the biggest day of Ohio State pre-season camp to date.


Will Howard continues to look like QB1 for Ohio State​


In speaking with multiple sources about Saturday's scrimmage, a common thread when talking about the offense is that Kansas State transfer Will Howard continues to look like "the guy" for Ohio State.


Three separate sources praised Howard's play on Saturday, and all three agreed they would be surprised if Ryan Day did not name him as the starter sooner versus later (Day is scheduled to speak with the media on Thursday).


I'm told Howard was making throws all over the field on Saturday, and that his athleticism and ability to run were really apparent and can be a weapon that Ohio State has been missing in their offense since Justin Fields roamed the sidelines---not that Howard is as fast or athletic as Fields, just that you can see OSU use the quarterback in the run game more than they have with CJ Stroud and Kyle McCord the past two season.


He's got to prove it when it matters, in real games, but the way Howard has ascended in camp is really encouraging for the Buckeyes' season prospects.


The running game looks to be back​


In speaking with a couple of people on Saturday and Sunday, it seems that Ohio State has the perfect storm of personnel and events to get it's running game back on track.


It appears that having two incredibly talented backs in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins doesn't hurt, but that combined with Chip Kelly and Carlos Locklyn working very closely together with Justin Frye and Tim Drevno to "change the running game" has made a noticeable difference.


I have consistently heard from people who have watched practice how the running game is vastly improved and noticeably different, in a good way, and that seems to have been apparent once again on Saturday during the scrimmage.


Wide receivers earn high marks​


I reported on Sunday morning that I heard that second year wideout Bryson Rodgers had a nice day on Saturday, inclusive of scoring a touchdown in the scrimmage.


On Sunday, I also heard great things about Jeremiah Smith. It's no surprise to hear that the freshman sensation had a good day on Saturday, but its certainly noteworthy. One thing that was good to hear about Smith was how good he was blocking on the edge during the scrimmage---we knew he could catch it and run, but to hear he is not only willing, but strong in run blocking was a big positive.


Two others who got praise, not necessarily for Saturday, but for the camps they are having thus far, were Brandon Inniss and Jayden Ballard. It seems like Ohio State's depth at receiver is shaping up nicely behind Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate.


Offensive line seems to be healthy again​


A number of offensive linemen missed practice late last week with what Day called a "funky virus". While this wasn't expected to be a long term deal, there was some concern with a few I spoke with about how it would impact some position battles on the line, as well as if it could spread to other groups.


I don't have definite head counts on who was and wasn't there on Saturday, but I am told that most, if not all, of the group was back, including Carson Hinzman, who is in a battle for the right guard position with Tegra Tshabola.


Unrelated to health, it seems that battle at right guard is really competitive. I continue to get almost split thoughts from sources as to which player is going to win that job.


BIA is actually going to be Best In America​


The defensive back room has been calling itself "BIA", for "Best In America" since the second decade of this century, when the program was seemingly churning out first round picks every year.


It's been up and down for BIA over the last handful of years at times, but it seems like the 2024 version of the unit may actually be the best in America.


I have probably spoken to six or seven different people who have seen the team so far during camp and all of them have praised the secondary. That includes a few people I spoke to about Saturday's scrimmage, as the praise on BIA continued to be sky high.


One source said flat out, "they are the consensus best unit on the team and it's not really a debate".


Things got a bit chippy out there​


In speaking with two different sources, it appears that Saturday's scrimmage was very physical and played with a lot of emotion. This led to some "chippiness" amongst teammates and players and coaches at time.


Fear not, though, this is nothing to worry about, and was considered by both sources to be "healthy competitiveness" between all those involved.


It appears the team is going really hard and the coaching staff is pushing them really hard thus far in camp, with Chip Kelly reportedly leading that charge in a big way on the offensive side of the ball. "This team has a different fire to it versus past teams that Ryan has had here," one source said. "I can't fully describe it, it's just different in the attitude they bring every single day".
 
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