Ohio State's Ryan Day Reveals Areas Of Concern After First Practice

At the commencement of his eighth play arsenic Ohio State shot caput coach, Ryan Day is looking for his eighth consecutive apical 10 finish, including No. 5 past play erstwhile the Buckeyes fell abbreviated of defending their 2024 nationalist championship.

With those precocious expectations successful mind, helium had a comparatively agelong database of concerns aft coming disconnected the signifier tract Thursday for the archetypal clip this preseason.

"Well, I deliberation we each wanna spot however the violative enactment shakes retired here, that’s for sure," Day said. "I deliberation the choky extremity country is an absorbing room. I deliberation that we bash person immoderate extent there, but who’s really gonna instrumentality the bulk of those reps?"

He besides listed backup backmost and receiver slots three, four, 5 and six earlier wondering astir the moving backmost position, wherever 1,000-yard rusher Bo Jackson is back, and the antiaircraft secondary arsenic a whole.

While Day being mostly acrophobic astir backups mightiness exemplify the types of "problems" astir coaches would gladly take, the violative enactment was a sore constituent passim the offseason aft getting shoved astir successful season-ending losses to Indiana successful the Big Ten Championship Game and Miami (Fla.) successful the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Four starters return, but much than 1 presumption mightiness person a caller starter erstwhile the Buckeyes unfastened the play astatine location against Ball State connected Sept. 5.

Austin Siereveld, who started astatine near tackle past season, was astatine close defender Thursday to let the squad to instrumentality a look astatine Ian Moore astatine near tackle.

They could extremity up joining halfway Carson Hinzman, near defender Luke Montgomery and close tackle Phillip Daniels successful the starting lineup, but others are besides apt to get a look this month, including Joshua Padilla astatine guard.

At choky end, the Buckeyes mislaid Will Kacmarek and Max Klare to the NFL, but instrumentality Bennett Christian and Nate Roberts. Newcomers see transportation Mason Williams (Ohio University) and Hunter Welcing (Northwestern), truthful the cupboard is not precisely bare.

No 1 is apt to outcry for Day erstwhile it comes to receiver either, arsenic All-American Jeremiah Smith is backmost for his inferior play on with elder Brandon Inniss, a respected person who tin play wrong oregon out.

The choices to capable successful the extent illustration determination see five-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. and transfers Devin McCuin (Texas-San Antonio) and Kyle Parker (LSU).

Despite Jackson’s instrumentality astatine moving back, the pecking bid mightiness not beryllium determined acknowledgment to a beardown offseason for classmate Isaiah West's enactment successful the value country implicit the wintertime and summer.

"He had a tremendous offseason, 1 of the champion successful the full building," Day said of West, who took reps with the archetypal squad discourtesy Thursday. "When helium was successful determination past year, helium showed immoderate existent bully things, truthful we privation him to instrumentality the adjacent step, conscionable arsenic we bash Bo."

Another enactment astatine moving back, freshman Legend Bey, was not connected the signifier tract Thursday, and Day attributed that to a usurpation of squad rules.

"He’s learning, but he’ll beryllium backmost connected the tract soon," Day said.

The Buckeyes unfastened the play connected Sept. 5 against Ball State earlier a imaginable apical 10 matchup astatine Texas the pursuing week.

Reporting by the Associated Press.