You’re Nuts: Overreacting to the early days of fall camp
Josh Dooley via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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We’re taking what we’ve seen through the first few preseason practices and running with it...
As preseason camp begins this week, Land-Grant Holy Land is diving into its final theme every week of the off-season. This week is all about making predictions that may or may not be reasonable, in fact, some might say they are bold. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all of our ”Bold Predictions” articles here.
Everybody knows that one of the best parts of being a sports fan is debating and dissecting the most (and least) important questions in the sporting world with your friends. So, we’re bringing that to the pages of LGHL with our favorite head-to-head column: You’re Nuts.
In You’re Nuts, two LGHL staff members will take differing sides of one question and argue their opinions passionately. Then, in the end, it’s up to you to determine who’s right and who’s nuts.
This week’s topic: Overreacting to the early days of fall camp.
Josh’s Take
The
Ohio State Buckeyes are only a few days/practices into fall camp. However, that won’t stop us (as fans, bloggers, media, etc.) from overreaching, overreacting, and/or getting overly excited about what we’ve seen and heard thus far.
Jim Knowles’ defense seems impenetrable? Of course it does! Will Howard might be the next Josh Allen? Book it! And on and on and on. In reality, we know next to nothing about this year’s Buckeyes. But it’s still fun to imagine and get the discourse going, right?
I mean, what else are we going to do after the Olympics? Plus, over-analyzing glorified walkthroughs certainly beats worrying about deleted text messages and Level 1 NCAA violations. Ya know, if one did have a reason to worry about such random yet specific things...
So Gene and I thought we’d get in on the fun by
mildly wildly overreacting to at least one thing that we’ve seen or heard coming out of OSU’s first few practices. I’ll get the action started by saying that I am absolutely jacked to the t... (
Big Short reference) for Damarion Witten’s move to wide receiver, Jelani Thurman’s impending breakout, and Ohio State’s ability to eventually deploy an “all freaks” lineup as a result.
Witten’s move had been rumored or in the works for some time, but because he chose to play his last season of basketball at Glenville High School and graduate (HS) on schedule, we had not really seen or heard from him in months. But now we have proof of concept. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound former Tarblooder is officially a WR — A big one. Witten joins Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith as the power forwards in Brian Hartline’s position room, giving OSU a trio of WRs comparable in size to Marvin Harrison Jr.
Then there’s Jelani Thurman, who is without a doubt one of the most physically impressive-looking players on the Buckeyes’ roster. He is currently listed at 6-foot-6, 258 and looks like he belongs on the outside. Except he’s a tight end! That being said, physical gifts only get one so far. Thurman is still learning and repping all the mental aspects of his position, which is likely why we only saw him in five games as a true freshman.
But in 2024, Ohio State needs (at least) one or two guys to step up at TE, and I firmly believe that Thurman will be one of those guys. Early reports from fall camp have done nothing to quell my not so quiet confidence. Word out of the Woody is that Thurman is shining like a 10-carat diamond, and I could not be more here for it. Thurman Stan No. 1 reporting for duty.
While I understand that Thurman and especially Witten are not likely to be big-time contributors right away this season, imagine the possibilities once both players find some level of comfort. Better yet, imagine a lineup featuring Tate, Smith, Witten,
and Thurman! Four big, nasty freaks (complimentary) running past opposing defenders and then Moss-ing dudes in the endzone! I mean, I’m getting fired up just thinking about it.
If Witten and Thurman were in the new EA Sports College Football game, rest assured I would already be experimenting with said lineup. And probably putting up anywhere from 3 to 10 points playing on Heisman.
That’s what has me excited, Gene. I know it’s early – especially on the Witten front – but I can’t stop myself from imagining an “all bigs” or “all freaks” lineup. And these first few practices have only contributed or added to my excitement.
Gene’s Take
One of the biggest storylines heading into this new season is who Ohio State will have starting along the offensive line. A unit that was not up to par last year will return four of its starters, but only three of those guys are locked into their previous positions in left tackle Josh Simmons, left guard Donovan Jackson and right tackle Josh Fryar. Center, which was previously manned by Carson Hinzman, will be taken over by Alabama transfer Seth McLaughlin, leaving one spot open at right guard.
During the spring, it appeared as though Luke Montgomery was one of the frontrunners to earn that final starting job, but now that the fall has arrived, things have changed. Now, the two guys seemingly in contention to top the depth chart at right guard are Tegra Tshabola and Hinzman. The pair are the only two guys to see consistent playing time with the ones during the first four days of camp, and with Tshabola getting more of the reps on Sunday, I’m going to stake my claim now that he will be Ohio State’s starting right guard against Akron.
Coming out of high school, Tshabola was a highly regarded offensive tackle. The West Chester, Ohio native was ranked as the No. 10 OT and the No. 104 player nationally on the 247Sports Composite in the 2022 class. However, since then nearly all indications for the 6-foot-6, 327-pound lineman have pointed to a future at guard rather than on the outside.
Hinzman, on the other hand, came to Ohio State has more of a guard before being thrusted into the center position last season out of necessity. Hinzman was the No. 9 IOL and No. 177 player nationally in the 247Sports Composite for the 2022 class, and has valuable — albeit not stellar — experience has a starter for the Buckeyes. Both of those factors likely give Hinzman the edge for the starting job at right guard, but since we’re overreacting to early snap counts in camp, I'm still saying Tshabola will be trotting out there with the ones to begin the season.
Tshabola is heading into year three at Ohio State. While he did not make any starts last season, he did appear in all 13 games for the Buckeyes on special teams. He has put in a ton of work this offseason to get himself and his body ready to compete for a job at guard, and it has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff.
“He wants to be here. He wants to be a contributor to Ohio State,” Ryan Day
said on Thursday. “It does matter. There are different places he could have gone and tried different avenues, but he stuck with it and it’s going to pay off for him if he continues to get better and show discipline and consistency. We’re excited about what he did this offseason. He’s gonna have every opportunity to become a major contributor on offense.”
Consistency seems to be the key word when it comes to Tshabola, as that seems to be what the final step would be in order for him to officially earn the starting job. But I'm willing to take Day’s words and a few practice snaps and run with it: Tegra Tshabola will be your starting right guard come Aug. 31.
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