Revisiting three spring practice predictions after spring game

COLUMBUS — The goals couldn’t be more clear for Ohio State. And if anyone forgot about them, Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day made sure to remind everyone in the Horseshoe on Saturday during the spring game.

Day stood on the turf and, speaking with FOX’s Joel Klatt, told the 80,012 on hand for the spring scrimmage that Ohio State is here this season to beat Michigan and win the national title — nothing else.

And after a full 15 practices of spring, the Buckeyes feel confident they’re on the right track to getting both done.

Of course, the Buckeyes felt that way before spring practice, before they learned so much about their roster during the last seven weeks of on-field work.

Lettermen Row made three pre-spring predictions on March 3 about what could happen before spring practice started. Now we’re going back, revisiting those predictions and re-evaluating what we think with spring practice in the rearview mirror. Let’s break them down.

What we wrote on March 3: Will Howard locks up Ohio State starting quarterback job

Explanation at the time: Ohio State didn’t jump into the portal and land one of the top quarterback options just to see that option not play. Will Howard came here to play football, not sit the bench. The prediction here is that he’ll lock down the starting role by the end of spring ball — even if it’s not said publicly by Ryan Day and the Buckeyes offensive coaching staff.

Howard has the ability to run that hasn’t been seen in a few years at the quarterback position for the Buckeyes. He has plenty of experience and brings a conference-title winner into the room to bolster the ceiling of this offense. Sure, Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz will test Howard and make sure he has to earn the starting gig in his first and only season at Ohio State. But he came here to play. Will Howard will take control of the quarterback room and make it obvious he’s the guy heading into the summer.

How we feel now: Devin Brown made a bigger charge that I expected, to be fair. Brown looked good this spring, and this remains an open competition heading into the summer. Howard had his bright moments, and he reportedly has looked more comfortable during the last two weeks of spring practice. Neither blew anybody away during the spring game, but that’s just one practice of a 15-day sample size from the spring.

Given what Howard can do with his physicality and bulldozing ability as a runner during full-contact games, Lettermen Row still believes he will end up being the starting quarterback. But he certainly didn’t lock the job up with a dazzling spring. He still needs to prove himself further in a loaded quarterback room to get the starting nod from the Ohio State offensive coaching staff.

What we wrote on March 3: Sonny Styles makes move to linebacker for Buckeyes

Explanation at the time: Ohio State has kept the answer to the big question close to its collective vest this offseason: Will Sonny Styles move down to linebacker? With Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom manning the safety room, Styles can flash his versatility and move to a more natural position for himself. Buckeyes brass talks highly of his unique skillset, which could make the transition easy.

“I think Sonny has such a rare skill set in the sense that you saw it some, a little bit, where he would play kind of the ‘overhang’ last year and didn’t really know what he was this is a safety right or is this more of an outside backer? Old-school Sam, you know, they use those terms. He’s just so versatile. And so I think there’s a lot of different roles that we can kind of put Sonny in to bring out the best in him.

“I think with his body size and his age, when you try to project him forward, he’s kind of in that Isaiah Simmons mix — if you remember that name, where you’re like ‘what really is he?’ Safety? He’s just a weapon. So I think that’s something that we have to kind of evaluate this spring, where to put him to not only best suit what we want to do as silver bullets, but also what’s best for his future.”

Simmons moved to linebacker once he got to the NFL. Styles, with a similar build, can make the jump down into the box a bit earlier in his career. It’ll help him — and Ohio State.

How we feel now: This was a perfect transition, and it’s already showing it can pay off big-time for the Buckeyes. Sonny Styles’ move to the linebacker room gives Ohio State another elite weapon at a key position of the defense. C.J. Hicks and Cody Simon ran with the first-team linebackers for nearly all of spring, but Styles is going to be a huge factor alongside those two as James Laurinaitis wants to rotate through his unit throughout the season.

Styles gives Knowles and Laurinaitis a massive boost to the linebacker room and makes the unit one of the strongest on the roster. He’ll provide what the Buckeyes need in the front seven and create plenty of buzz for this could-be-historic defense entering the summer.

What we wrote on March 3: Ohio State leaves spring as national title favorite

Explanation at the time: This might be a little bold, but it’s not far off. As of the beginning of March, Georgia is the betting favorite to win the national title. The Bulldogs return a huge part of their incredible defense. They have returning quarterback and potential first-round pick Carson Beck leading the way behind a good offensive line and elite skill talent. But most of the same reasons that make Georgia the favorite also make Ohio State the second-best odds to win it all next January.

Once reports come out from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center that this Ohio State team looks the part — every bit of the part — the odds will begin to shift. The folks in the desert will take notice of how good this defense should be and what Howard and the offense can do, especially in the running game.

Right now, the Bulldogs are the top dog. Ohio State has a chance to become the title favorite over the next seven weeks.

How we feel now: The needle hasn’t quite moved in the direction at Ohio State just yet. The Georgia Bulldogs are still the favorite to win the national title, according to every sportsbook. And that’s OK.

Georgia is really good, and the Bulldogs have their starting quarterback returning, while the Buckeyes are still working through a quarterback competition. Georgia has won two national titles in the last three years, while Ohio State is still working to break through and get back to that spot.

But it’s close. And even if Ohio State didn’t become the national title favorite, it’s hard to pick against the Buckeyes at least getting to that moment — and potentially winning it.

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