OHIO STATE SET TO BEGIN FALL CAMP FRIDAY AMID HEAD COACH UNCERTAINTY
There’s nothing typical about the situation the Ohio State football team is currently in.
For interim head coach Ryan Day, the rest of Ohio State’s coaching staff and the Buckeyes’ players, however, the goal will likely be business as usual when they take the field for their first practice of fall camp on Friday.
The Buckeyes only have 29 days until they open their season against Oregon State on Sept. 1, and they haven’t been able to practice as a team since the spring game on April 14, so they don’t have much time to waste as they prepare for the 2018 season.
What makes tomorrow’s start of fall camp different than the typical start of fall camp, of course, is that the Buckeyes will be without their regular head coach, Urban Meyer, who is currently on paid administrative leave while Ohio State investigates whether he knew about domestic violence allegations against former wide receivers coach Zach Smith in 2015 and determines whether Meyer should continue to lead the football program.
Additionally, the first practice of fall camp – which is typically at least partially open to the media – will now be entirely closed, as the Buckeyes understandably look to minimize distractions and focus on their football preparations.
While the coaching staff drama certainly casts a cloud over what is typically a celebratory day for the Ohio State football team and its fans, as it marks the true beginning of the season in terms of on-field practice and preparation, the Buckeyes can’t allow it to get in the way of what they need to accomplish if they want to contend for conference and national championships once again.
They have the talent to do that, but the next four weeks will be crucial for the Buckeyes to answer some of the questions they still might have about their team and begin putting their game plans into action.
Most prominently, of course, is the Buckeyes’ need to build their offense around new starting quarterback Dwayne Haskins. While Meyer won’t be around for at least the start of camp to assist in that process, Day and fellow offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson will lead the way in figuring out how they can best utilize the talents of their new signal-caller, who offers increased deep passing ability but perhaps not as much running ability as predecessor J.T. Barrett.
The Buckeyes are also likely to experiment with Tate Martell over the next four weeks, and determine how to best utilize him within their offense. His athleticism and playmaking ability as a runner could lead to a situational role in Ohio State’s offense, but that will likely depend on how well he performs in preseason practices.
Tate Martell's potential role in Ohio State's offense is one of the biggest questions surrounding the Buckeyes entering fall camp.
Ohio State is loaded with playmakers around the quarterback, returning J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber at running back and all six of their wide receivers who played regularly last season, but still have some questions up front.
Thayer Munford enters preseason camp as the frontrunner to start at left tackle, while Brady Taylor is the favorite to start at center, but offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and the rest of the Buckeyes’ offensive coaching staff will still be evaluating to determine whether they are among the best five offensive linemen along with returning starters Michael Jordan, Demetrius Knox and Isaiah Prince.
The Buckeyes also have to figure out how to set their depth chart at tight end, where Luke Farrell is expected to start but Rashod Berry, Jake Hausmann and incoming freshman Jeremy Ruckert could all also be in the mix for playing time.
Across the ball on the defensive line, the biggest question for defensive line coach Larry Johnson and his unit will simply be determining how many linemen he should play, as he’s expected to have another star-studded lineup with Nick Bosa, Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper leading the way at defensive end and Dre’Mont Jones and Robert Landers starting at defensive tackle.
The Buckeyes have much bigger questions, however, at linebacker, where they face the possibility of opening the season with three new starters. While Tuf Borland and Dante Booker are expected to play this year, Borland will miss at least the start of camp as he continues to recover from an Achilles injury, while the Buckeyes plan to be cautious with Booker, who is coming off a pair of shoulder surgeries. That leaves Malik Harrison, Baron Browning, Justin Hilliard, Keandre Jones and Pete Werner to continue competing for the opportunity to start as camp opens.
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