Roundtable: Previewing Buckeyes first day of training camp

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is set to open training camp on Thursday morning. This marks the beginning of a season that is more highly-anticipated than any year in recent memory.

Lettermen Row is certainly excited for the Buckeyes to hit the practice field, and we’re finalizing our pre-camp coverage with a roundtable discussion about camp from Spencer Holbrook and Andy Backstrom. Let’s dive in.

Spencer: We did it, Andy. We finally made it to the beginning of training camp. All of the offseason talk can finally be put to bed as we transition into the preseason. Ohio State has so much to look forward to in the month ahead, and there are so many storylines to track. 

With that in mind, what are you most looking to learn from these first few days of camp as the first two are open for us to see?

Andy: I want to see Will Howard throw the football again. He’s the frontrunner for the QB1 job, and he has been ever since he transferred in seven months ago. In the spring practices made available to the media, redshirt sophomore Devin Brown led the quarterback drills, but Howard got the starting nod in the spring game. That said, neither pulled away from the other over the course of the 15 total spring ball practices. At the time, Howard was still learning the Ohio State offensive system. Now he’s been in the program for more than half a year. I want to see what he looks like operating the first-team offense. And I want to see what he looks like with the second-team offensive line during split-field work – will the gamer in him come out?

Spencer: I think it will. Howard really began to shine in the weight room this summer, according to most folks we talked to during the last few months. That should translate to a leadership role – and help him bring out that ‘gamer’ inside him that you referred to. Howard plays his best football in 11-on-11, full-contact settings, so he’s not the most flashy practice player. But I do think his experience as a big-time quarterback will start to show in August when it’s time to win the quarterback job for Ohio State.

Aside from quarterback, which position battle do you think needs to be settled the quickest for these Buckeyes?

Andy: It’s absolutely the right guard competition. This time around, the Ohio State offensive line has the luxury of experience – the Buckeyes returned four starters up front, and one of them, center Carson Hinzman, might wind up getting the nod at right guard this season. He’s part of a three-way race for the job, along with Tegra Tshabola and Luke Montgomery. With Alabama grad transfer Seth McLaughlin being the favorite to start at center, Hinzman’s best shot to see the field this year is at right guard. Hinzman has enjoyed a bounce-back offseason, but don’t count out Tshabola, who was the Buckeyes’ extra tackle in their “Bison” package during the Cotton Bowl and went on to play two series at right guard with the first-team offense in the spring game. Montgomery appeared to have an early lead in the competition, and he remains in the mix, except it seems as though Hinzman and Tshabola enter camp as the top-two suitors.

Figuring out the “best five,” as O-Line coach Justin Frye says, is imperative for this program. The offensive line play wasn’t up to Ohio State’s standard last year, and finding the right combination as early as possible is the first step toward a rebound in 2024.

Is there a Buckeyes position coach facing more pressure than Frye this season?

Spencer: No, and I don’t think it’s close. Ryan Day said his team will go as the offensive line will go this year when talking about the Buckeyes at Big Ten Media Days last week, and he meant it. Frye must show this season that he can develop veterans into true NFL-level players – especially at tackle. He has to prove he can insert capable young players as plug-and-play stars on the interior while helping Seth McLaughlin lead the unit from the center position.

Oh, and he has to nail it on the recruiting trail between now and December. So Frye, for sure, is under a tremendous amount of pressure heading into camp. But he’s not alone. I would argue that we also need to see quite a bit from first-year safeties coach Matt Guerrieri and first-year running backs coach Carlos Locklyn.

Locklyn has an interesting first year coming.

Andy: Certainly. On one hand, Locklyn has the best running back tandem in college football. On the other hand, he’s responsible for dividing the workload of those two star backs. As much as TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins have welcomed the idea of splitting carries, they’re competitors and, at the end of the day, are big mouths to feed, considering their talent as well as NFL aspirations. Locklyn has talked this offseason about how he has experience navigating crowded running back rooms, but this one’s unique in that he’s got two 1,000-yard backs and two true freshmen, and that’s it – at least as far as scholarship running backs go.

Locklyn has to make it through a season that could be as long as 17 games with just four scholarship running backs. One-time RB3 Dallan Hayden transferred to Colorado this spring, and the Buckeyes didn’t replace him in the portal. Then walk-on TC Caffey, who appeared to be primed for a role as a potential RB5, went down with a season-ending knee injury this summer. Staying healthy is priority No. 1 for this Ohio State running back room. But, in the meantime, Locklyn has to make sure first-year backs James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon are ready to go for Week 1, and he has to locate a fifth running back somewhere on the roster.

Spencer: Locklyn is one to watch, for sure. Plenty of coaches are. What about other players? Anyone else before we get out of here? 

I have my eyes on C.J. Hicks, for what it’s worth. He’s such an athletic weapon, and he seems to be taking the proper steps to become a regular contributor at linebacker. But Ohio State wants to see much more consistency from him, and I think that’s what’s held him back for two years. He’s a guy that can take this defense from great to elite, in my opinion, because of his versatility. Insert him into the already-loaded defense, and we’re looking at what could be a special Buckeyes team.

Andy: Yeah, it’s funny that we haven’t talked defense until this point of the discussion. But that’s fitting, too, because there aren’t many questions surrounding a unit that was already fantastic in 2023 and then brought back almost everyone for 2024. It will be interesting to see if Hicks is finally unleashed, and we won’t completely know if he will be – or, maybe, how he will be – until the first game of the season. 

It feels like Sonny Styles is the favorite for the starting WILL linebacker job, but I’m hoping to see more of what he looks like at the second level during camp. Both Hicks and Styles have the potential to bring more speed and, as a result, havoc creation to the Buckeyes’ defense.

Some final defensive thoughts off the top of my head:

Arvell Reese was practicing at MIKE linebacker in the spring. How’s he doing there, and does he have a chance to back up Cody Simon over Gabe Powers?

A LOT has been said about the kind of offseason defensive end Mitchell Melton has had this year. We saw fruits of that labor in the spring, but will it translate to camp as well?

Who is the backup “nickel”? Is it Lorenzo Styles Jr.? Or is it Jermaine Mathews Jr., and maybe that’s one way secondary/cornerbacks coach Tim Walton gets Mathews on the field?

Anything else, Spencer?

Spencer: I think the last thing for me is just wanting to see Ryan Day in his new CEO role. He has spent his entire adult life perfecting how to call an offense. Now he’s not doing that, giving it up to mentor Chip Kelly so he can become completely immersed in being the head coach. Does it change Day as an in-game manager? Does he keep the energy level up all year? How do players respond to Day in his new role? These are all things I will keep an eye on in the month ahead and throughout the regular season. 

This is such a critical season for so many players and coaches. Nobody feels more pressure than Ryan Day as he aims for a win over Michigan for the first time in a few years and that elusive national championship that has evaded him through his first five seasons.

I can’t wait for it to get started tomorrow, Andy. Training camp is such a fun time of year.

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