Ohio State learned a lot from its performance in the spring game, from the play of the defensive backs to the tandem behind TreVeyon Henderson at running back.
Here’s a look at what we took away after watching the spring game for a second time.
First quarter
Offense
From his first throw of the day, C.J. Stroud showed he was going to play extremely conservative football, which is what should be expected in a spring game.
His ability to take what the defense was giving him was actually a highlight for head coach Ryan Day postgame, seeing a quarterback quickly go through his reads and check down when he needs to check down instead of going for it all for the “sexy” pass play.
Bu t all in that conservative approach, there were glimpses of the quarterback that Stroud was in Pasadena, whether it was the roll out to the right, hitting Emeka Egbuka in stride for a 10-yard gain or moving the coverage with his eyes and finding the wide-open pocket for a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Typical Stroud.
Kyle McCord followed suit, starting his day at quarterback with a checkdown to running back Miyan Williams. And this begs the overreaction question: could this be how Ohio State’s offense would game plan against Jim Knowles’ defense? Could it be waiting for something to develop in the midst of confusion in the defensive backfield, but instead taking the more consistent approach down low for a short gain? Way too early and not enough of the scheme was played to tell, but it’s something to watch when Notre Dame comes to town Sept. 3.
But McCord’s day began eerily similarly to Stroud’s, following it up shortly with a play-action bootleg rollout to Joe Royer, before finding the tight end again for a touchdown, getting past that initial first-level defense of linebacker Chip Trayanum and going up and using his strength to bring down a beautiful throw, draped by Jyaire Brown.
When the Buckeyes reverted back to thud with Stroud back in the game, Evan Pryor showed why he could be special. On paper, it was a four-yard run, but he was weaving his way through the middle of the line, bouncing around and finding himself in the defensive backfield ready to burst forward. He’s elusive and is tough to bring down, something he was on countless runs Saturday afternoon.
Quick notes:
Defense
That first touchdown play of the game was also the first play where Jack Sawyer got to show off his new position.
He wasn’t the first person to line up as the Buckeyes’ standing defensive end, with Zach Harrison coming in at that end spot and just rushing the backfield. But on Stroud’s 29-yard touchdown throw, Sawyer paused for a millisecond at the line of scrimmage and began to back up into coverage. Actually, by the end of the play, the window where Smith-Njigba caught the football was between Sawyer and JK Johnson.
To be clear, that was not Sawyer’s job, with Smith-Njigba moving across the defense with a quarterback looking safeties and corners away from the spot the receiver ended up in. But it’s a prime example of what Sawyer could be doing on a daily basis.
As the quarter continued, the pressure came.
The first sack of the day came from Jaden McKenzie bulldozing through Luke Wypler, shrugging him off and tagging McCord. Then offensive tackle Grant Toutant was called for a hold, trying to keep Mitchell Melton away from the quarterback after beating the redshirt sophomore.
On the broadcast, Knowles told the commentators before the game that his defense would be playing a “watered down version” of what the fall would bring, like what Day said earlier in the week. However, he said there would not be a lot of blitzing going on. However, the tackles-for-loss and sack numbers came with a combination of the talent and depth the Buckeyes have accumulated up front, the lack of depth on the offensive line and the play of the defensive backfield forcing the quarterbacks to hold the ball longer.
Progress was seen, even if Ohio State didn’t run everything.
Josh Proctor wasn’t running everything.
He was only taking the field during thud periods, working his way back from a compound fracture that ended his season against Oregon. But he was out in coverage Saturday, battling against Smith-Njigba, who tried to get a ball that was underthrown by Stroud with a pass interference call. But Proctor was a veteran. He didn’t turn around and look for the ball, instead keeping his position and forcing the ball away.
He’s going to be much needed for this defense. And even at 80-85%, he looked impressive.
Second quarter
Offense
It wasn’t seen on the broadcast, but Devin Brown’s quarter didn’t start off too hot.
The freshman was sacked by J.T. Tuimoloau lined up against Paris Johnson Jr. on the outside, who had a rough day in his first game back at tackle, who later burst off the line in the second drive for a false start.
But C.J. Stroud continued to do Stroud-like things, threading a 10-yard pass to Gee Scott Jr. that was nearly batted down by Ronnie Hickman.
And Evan Pryor did Pryor-like things, following up a hold by Johnson with a speed option, beating three defenders on the outside. It was the premier play of the day for the Ohio State offense, showing what potential this redshirt freshman back could bring in terms of shiftiness, speed and burst.
The first run after Pryor’s touchdown? A 36-yard run by Miyan Williams who started in the middle, bounced outside and burst free. Beautiful run that shows the depth running backs coach Tony Alford has in his room.
Grant Toutant moves the Buckeyes back with a false start, though, reminiscent of Ohio State’s lack of depth and experience in the second-string and third-string of its offensive line. Day made it clear he’s still looking for players to trust on the line, not having the depth he had last season.
Before the quarter was done, Johnson was beat again, failing to stop Jack Sawyer, who spun around and found his way to Stroud for the first sack of the day.
Quick notes:
With Stroud back on the field, Denzel Burke had the chance to give people a glimpse of what opposing pass offenses would have to deal with when facing the Buckeyes.
Seeing a one-on-one matchup with Marvin Harrison Jr., seemingly a good matchup, Stroud threw the ball up. Burke matched the sophomore wide receiver stride for stride, jumping up in front of him and batting the ball away, something he did countless times as a freshman and forcing opposing quarterbacks to look elsewhere as 2021 continued.
On the line, the pressure continued.
After Tuimoloau rushed Brown for a sack in the first part of the quarter, Sawyer did the same thing, beating Johnson on the line and being called for a hold before getting free and chasing Stroud across the backfield.
The pressure didn’t just come from the line. Welcome to the game, Kye Stokes.
On a quick pass from Kyle McCord to Gee Scott Jr., the freshman safety plowed through the line of scrimmage, bringing the tight end down after only a three-yard gain and later recording one of two pass breakups on the day defending Emeka Egbuka and nearly picking off a pass intended for Harrison.
This kid’s going to be special, as is Jordan Hancock, who exploded in and got his hands on the football for a pass breakup and shooting into the backfield and bringing down Williams for a tackle-for-loss on the very next play, showing a level of comfort in the secondary.
Third quarter
Offense
Ohio State’s run game continued to dominate in the second half.
On the Buckeyes’ second drive, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor moved the ball downfield, combining for 33 yards on four carries, showing the same aggressiveness with their different run styles each showed in the first half.
But Devin Brown was the one to make the big splash in the third quarter.
Set in a traditional drop back behind center, the freshman quarterback took the snap, took two steps and fired on a post outside to Reis Stocksdale, who beat two corners for the score. He looked comfortable, waiting for the play to develop and fired, hitting him in stride.
Kyle McCord continued to look comfortable too, standing firm in the pocket and waiting for that window to open for Xavier Johnson despite high levels of pressure all around him. That 21-yard completion is one he couldn’t have made last year. It was a mature throw.
Quick notes
Denzel Burke broke McCord’s completion streak.
Throwing on the outside to Jayden Ballard, the sophomore cornerback reached in and poked the ball out after the sophomore started the game with six completions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Ballard was on the other end of another pass breakup the very next play in a one-on-one matchup with Jordan Hancock, who pushed the ball out for another incompletion on a well-thrown ball by McCord.
Really, it’s not that the offense had been doing anything wrong. It’s more about the aggressiveness and tenacity Ohio State’s safeties and cornerbacks played with that led to some miscues for the Ohio State offense.
Sawyer was seen back in coverage, roaming back at that Jack spot, but still looked like he was getting used to it all, giving Sam Wiglusz too much room on the sideline for a first down
Quick notes:
Offense
It was a quarter dominated by the Ohio State defense. But it was also a quarter where Devin Brown looked like a bit of a freshman.
He was a bit erratic, trying to make a big splash with each throw he made. Offensive line didn’t help, with multiple sacks in the final 12 minutes.
It all culminated in an interception against Cameron Kittle, one that was a very good defensive play, but one where the freshman forced the ball downfield instead of taking what the defense was giving him.
Ohio State saw splashes of what Devin Brown could be. But Ohio State also left knowing what its hierarchy of quarterbacks would be.
Defense
The fourth quarter begins: Welcome to the Kittle show.
Beautiful ball by Brown to Kyion Grayes was blocked away by the sophomore walk-on cornerback, staying behind the recover, but getting his hand up to break up the pass.
And the pressure continued against George Fitzpatrick, with J.T. Tuimoloau tagging Brown for the sack, keeping the momentum on the side of a high-energy and eager defense that met expectations without showing much of what the new scheme looked like.
Jyaire Brown joined the fun with a pass breakup on Grayes, followed up with the second sack of the day against the Ohio State offense.
But the play of the day for the defense came from Kittle later in the quarter, throwing up his hands again, tapping the ball away before grabbing the reception for the first interception of the day.
Here’s a look at what we took away after watching the spring game for a second time.
First quarter
Offense
From his first throw of the day, C.J. Stroud showed he was going to play extremely conservative football, which is what should be expected in a spring game.
His ability to take what the defense was giving him was actually a highlight for head coach Ryan Day postgame, seeing a quarterback quickly go through his reads and check down when he needs to check down instead of going for it all for the “sexy” pass play.
Bu t all in that conservative approach, there were glimpses of the quarterback that Stroud was in Pasadena, whether it was the roll out to the right, hitting Emeka Egbuka in stride for a 10-yard gain or moving the coverage with his eyes and finding the wide-open pocket for a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Typical Stroud.
Kyle McCord followed suit, starting his day at quarterback with a checkdown to running back Miyan Williams. And this begs the overreaction question: could this be how Ohio State’s offense would game plan against Jim Knowles’ defense? Could it be waiting for something to develop in the midst of confusion in the defensive backfield, but instead taking the more consistent approach down low for a short gain? Way too early and not enough of the scheme was played to tell, but it’s something to watch when Notre Dame comes to town Sept. 3.
But McCord’s day began eerily similarly to Stroud’s, following it up shortly with a play-action bootleg rollout to Joe Royer, before finding the tight end again for a touchdown, getting past that initial first-level defense of linebacker Chip Trayanum and going up and using his strength to bring down a beautiful throw, draped by Jyaire Brown.
When the Buckeyes reverted back to thud with Stroud back in the game, Evan Pryor showed why he could be special. On paper, it was a four-yard run, but he was weaving his way through the middle of the line, bouncing around and finding himself in the defensive backfield ready to burst forward. He’s elusive and is tough to bring down, something he was on countless runs Saturday afternoon.
Quick notes:
- That Emeka Egbuka bobble catch was an NFL-level catch. That kid’s going to play a lot and could be extremely special come the fall.
- Evan Pryor looks SOOOOOO much smaller than Ronnie Hickman, cradling the back after a four-yard rush during the thud period. But the size for Pryor really doesn’t matter here.
- Davin Brown first impression: first throw to Xavier Johnson was a bit underthrown, but the right move, sitting in the screen, getting the daylight for a 23-yard gain.
Defense
That first touchdown play of the game was also the first play where Jack Sawyer got to show off his new position.
He wasn’t the first person to line up as the Buckeyes’ standing defensive end, with Zach Harrison coming in at that end spot and just rushing the backfield. But on Stroud’s 29-yard touchdown throw, Sawyer paused for a millisecond at the line of scrimmage and began to back up into coverage. Actually, by the end of the play, the window where Smith-Njigba caught the football was between Sawyer and JK Johnson.
To be clear, that was not Sawyer’s job, with Smith-Njigba moving across the defense with a quarterback looking safeties and corners away from the spot the receiver ended up in. But it’s a prime example of what Sawyer could be doing on a daily basis.
As the quarter continued, the pressure came.
The first sack of the day came from Jaden McKenzie bulldozing through Luke Wypler, shrugging him off and tagging McCord. Then offensive tackle Grant Toutant was called for a hold, trying to keep Mitchell Melton away from the quarterback after beating the redshirt sophomore.
On the broadcast, Knowles told the commentators before the game that his defense would be playing a “watered down version” of what the fall would bring, like what Day said earlier in the week. However, he said there would not be a lot of blitzing going on. However, the tackles-for-loss and sack numbers came with a combination of the talent and depth the Buckeyes have accumulated up front, the lack of depth on the offensive line and the play of the defensive backfield forcing the quarterbacks to hold the ball longer.
Progress was seen, even if Ohio State didn’t run everything.
Josh Proctor wasn’t running everything.
He was only taking the field during thud periods, working his way back from a compound fracture that ended his season against Oregon. But he was out in coverage Saturday, battling against Smith-Njigba, who tried to get a ball that was underthrown by Stroud with a pass interference call. But Proctor was a veteran. He didn’t turn around and look for the ball, instead keeping his position and forcing the ball away.
He’s going to be much needed for this defense. And even at 80-85%, he looked impressive.
Second quarter
Offense
It wasn’t seen on the broadcast, but Devin Brown’s quarter didn’t start off too hot.
The freshman was sacked by J.T. Tuimoloau lined up against Paris Johnson Jr. on the outside, who had a rough day in his first game back at tackle, who later burst off the line in the second drive for a false start.
But C.J. Stroud continued to do Stroud-like things, threading a 10-yard pass to Gee Scott Jr. that was nearly batted down by Ronnie Hickman.
And Evan Pryor did Pryor-like things, following up a hold by Johnson with a speed option, beating three defenders on the outside. It was the premier play of the day for the Ohio State offense, showing what potential this redshirt freshman back could bring in terms of shiftiness, speed and burst.
The first run after Pryor’s touchdown? A 36-yard run by Miyan Williams who started in the middle, bounced outside and burst free. Beautiful run that shows the depth running backs coach Tony Alford has in his room.
Grant Toutant moves the Buckeyes back with a false start, though, reminiscent of Ohio State’s lack of depth and experience in the second-string and third-string of its offensive line. Day made it clear he’s still looking for players to trust on the line, not having the depth he had last season.
Before the quarter was done, Johnson was beat again, failing to stop Jack Sawyer, who spun around and found his way to Stroud for the first sack of the day.
Quick notes:
- Stroud ran.
- Kyle McCord quietly started his day 6-6 for 68 yards and a touchdown. That’s about as consistent as you can get.
- Kyion Grayes first impression: strong hands and elusive, bringing in a catch and wiggling his way out of a tackle for another yard or two.
- Devin Brown showed how special he could be, stepping up inside the pocket and moving his way outside, throwing a dime to Sam Wiglusz on the sideline, but landing off the fingertips of the wide receiver.
With Stroud back on the field, Denzel Burke had the chance to give people a glimpse of what opposing pass offenses would have to deal with when facing the Buckeyes.
Seeing a one-on-one matchup with Marvin Harrison Jr., seemingly a good matchup, Stroud threw the ball up. Burke matched the sophomore wide receiver stride for stride, jumping up in front of him and batting the ball away, something he did countless times as a freshman and forcing opposing quarterbacks to look elsewhere as 2021 continued.
On the line, the pressure continued.
After Tuimoloau rushed Brown for a sack in the first part of the quarter, Sawyer did the same thing, beating Johnson on the line and being called for a hold before getting free and chasing Stroud across the backfield.
The pressure didn’t just come from the line. Welcome to the game, Kye Stokes.
On a quick pass from Kyle McCord to Gee Scott Jr., the freshman safety plowed through the line of scrimmage, bringing the tight end down after only a three-yard gain and later recording one of two pass breakups on the day defending Emeka Egbuka and nearly picking off a pass intended for Harrison.
This kid’s going to be special, as is Jordan Hancock, who exploded in and got his hands on the football for a pass breakup and shooting into the backfield and bringing down Williams for a tackle-for-loss on the very next play, showing a level of comfort in the secondary.
Third quarter
Offense
Ohio State’s run game continued to dominate in the second half.
On the Buckeyes’ second drive, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor moved the ball downfield, combining for 33 yards on four carries, showing the same aggressiveness with their different run styles each showed in the first half.
But Devin Brown was the one to make the big splash in the third quarter.
Set in a traditional drop back behind center, the freshman quarterback took the snap, took two steps and fired on a post outside to Reis Stocksdale, who beat two corners for the score. He looked comfortable, waiting for the play to develop and fired, hitting him in stride.
Kyle McCord continued to look comfortable too, standing firm in the pocket and waiting for that window to open for Xavier Johnson despite high levels of pressure all around him. That 21-yard completion is one he couldn’t have made last year. It was a mature throw.
Quick notes
- McCord runs.
- Devin Brown has an ARM, overthrows Caleb Burton in what could have been the highlight of the day for the offense.
- If Ohio State can make that running back wheel route a common play in their offensive playbook, watch out, especially with Pryor.
Denzel Burke broke McCord’s completion streak.
Throwing on the outside to Jayden Ballard, the sophomore cornerback reached in and poked the ball out after the sophomore started the game with six completions for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Ballard was on the other end of another pass breakup the very next play in a one-on-one matchup with Jordan Hancock, who pushed the ball out for another incompletion on a well-thrown ball by McCord.
Really, it’s not that the offense had been doing anything wrong. It’s more about the aggressiveness and tenacity Ohio State’s safeties and cornerbacks played with that led to some miscues for the Ohio State offense.
Sawyer was seen back in coverage, roaming back at that Jack spot, but still looked like he was getting used to it all, giving Sam Wiglusz too much room on the sideline for a first down
Quick notes:
- Ohio State’s defensive ends continued to give offensive tackle Grant Toutant a rough day, allowing Noah Potter to rush by him for a sack.
Offense
It was a quarter dominated by the Ohio State defense. But it was also a quarter where Devin Brown looked like a bit of a freshman.
He was a bit erratic, trying to make a big splash with each throw he made. Offensive line didn’t help, with multiple sacks in the final 12 minutes.
It all culminated in an interception against Cameron Kittle, one that was a very good defensive play, but one where the freshman forced the ball downfield instead of taking what the defense was giving him.
Ohio State saw splashes of what Devin Brown could be. But Ohio State also left knowing what its hierarchy of quarterbacks would be.
Defense
The fourth quarter begins: Welcome to the Kittle show.
Beautiful ball by Brown to Kyion Grayes was blocked away by the sophomore walk-on cornerback, staying behind the recover, but getting his hand up to break up the pass.
And the pressure continued against George Fitzpatrick, with J.T. Tuimoloau tagging Brown for the sack, keeping the momentum on the side of a high-energy and eager defense that met expectations without showing much of what the new scheme looked like.
Jyaire Brown joined the fun with a pass breakup on Grayes, followed up with the second sack of the day against the Ohio State offense.
But the play of the day for the defense came from Kittle later in the quarter, throwing up his hands again, tapping the ball away before grabbing the reception for the first interception of the day.
