Ohio State football: 6 areas to watch in Saturday’s spring game

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Apr. 12—COLUMBUS — While spring game scores do not matter much, the outcome of individual battles all over the field could go a long way toward determining how good Ohio State football can be in 2024.

Head coach Ryan Day said more than 50,000 tickets had been sold by midweek, and those fans can expect to see an offense-defense scrimmage.

Starters will play, but they will not tackle to the ground.

Once the veterans go to the bench, expect the real action to start as Day said the second and third units will be full-go.

With the Buckeyes set to conclude spring practice at noon Saturday at Ohio Stadium, here are six areas to watch:

1. The ends against the tackles

This has evolved into one of the key battles in any football game, and Ohio State has interesting matchups across the board.

Usually it tips in favor of the defense in spring games because of a dearth of depth at tackle, but seeing the second- and third-team ends get after it might be a good thing in the long run for Ohio State fans because pass rush depth is a key area to watch this spring.

Ends Mitchell Melton, Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry should provide good competition for the likes of Tegra Tshabola, Zen Michalski, George Fitzpatrick and others.

2. C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles against everyone

Head coach Ryan Day said Hicks and Styles, who are competing to start at Will linebacker and could share the field when the Buckeyes use a 4-3 defense, have been disrupting the offense this spring, something fans of recruiting have been waiting anxiously to hear.

Such athletes at linebacker could unlock another level of play for Jim Knowles’ defense, so fans should look forward to seeing them in person.

3. Receivers against the secondary

This is typically one of the best areas to watch in a spring game because teams don’t run the ball much, and the perimeter players can…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ohio-state-football-6-areas-141500072.html

Author : Dayton Daily News, Ohio

Publish date : 2024-04-12 14:15:00

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