What To Watch For During Ohio State’s Spring Game

Quarterback battle, early enrollees to take center stage on Saturday.

Ohio State will hold its annual spring game on Saturday afternoon (12 p.m. on BTN), marking the first time since the Buckeyes knocked off Penn State on Nov. 23, 2019, that football will be played in front of the general public at Ohio Stadium – albeit with a limited capacity of 19,180 people.

The first half should be competitive with evenly split rosters going head-to-head before the game moves to offense vs. defense in the second half. That will give redshirt freshmen quarterbacks Jack Miller and C.J. Stroud and true freshman Kyle McCord plenty of opportunities to stake their claim to the starting role and others one last chance to make an impression on the coaching staff before the end of spring.

That said, here’s what the staff of BuckeyesNow is watching for during Saturday’s spring game:

Brendan Gulick: “The quarterback battle will take center stage, without question. I wonder how much we will truly learn. Whatever we learn will happen on the field and not in a press conference, as the Buckeyes have played their cards extremely close to the vest in that room so far. The media hasn't had a chance to speak with any of the three contending quarterbacks all spring.

“Aside from the QBs, I'll have my eye on two places in particular: the running back room and the linebacking corps. How impactful will TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor be in their first appearances in Ohio Stadium? After it took the Scarlet and Gray half the season to get a running game going last year, I expect that group could take some pressure off a young quarterback.

“Across from them, the linebackers will look significantly different in 2021. After four guys left for the NFL Draft and with a room that's a bit thin already in spring practice, could we see something unexpected from someone vying for playing time? I'm particularly excited to watch Tommy Eichenberg. I think he's flying under the radar a bit and he could play well on Saturday.”

Andrew Lind: “While the quarterback battle between Stroud, Miller and McCord is the most important thing to monitor on Saturday, I’ll also have my eye on the five early enrollees who shed their black stripes during spring practice, including Henderson, defensive end Jack Sawyer, linebacker Reid Carrico and wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

“Prior to this year, only four true freshmen had their black stripe removed during spring practice since former head coach Urban Meyer started the tradition in 2012. That tells me one of two things: that current head coach Ryan Day has made it easier than ever to lose your black stripe or these five are the real deal. There’s no doubt in my mind it’s the latter, though, and their performances this afternoon should back that up – especially those on the offensive side of the ball.”

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