Michael Citro
Guest
Five good omens for 2025 from Ohio State’s Spring Game
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Several performances and plays from the OSU Spring Game were potential harbingers of good things for the upcoming college football season.
Sure, this may be the latest Ohio State Spring Game story in the history of OSU Spring Game stories, but I didn’t want to interrupt the three-week countdown ranking the touchdowns from the Buckeyes’ national championship run. I also wanted to have the opportunity to watch the Spring Game a couple of times, so waiting to write this column afforded me the chance to do that.
It’s easy to overreact to a glorified practice like the OSU Spring Game. It looks like a football game, so it gives the appearance that the things happening on the field are transferrable. Some things are transferrable, but it’s still a scrimmage. Game planning isn’t a part of it and it’s impossible to gauge how aggressive the defense is, knowing they aren’t going to be allowed to blow up the quarterback, running backs, and receivers the way they could in a real game.
That tendency to overreact is why I wanted to get multiple looks to see if there was anything that might translate into the 2025 season. I definitely saw some things I liked, and I’m not going to read too much into the defense not getting more stops or making more big plays. I believe the rules of the Spring Game tend to hinder the defense playing more like it would in a real game.
This is what stood out to me:
One of the big questions for 2025 is how Ohio State can replicate the success the Buckeyes had in the run game in 2024 with both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson leaving and the offensive line getting rebuilt on the outside. The offense may have partially shown the answer in the Spring Game.
Again, taking into account the fact that sometimes whistles blew without contact and the defense not being allowed to tee off, the running game was impressive. Bo Jackson (88 yards), Sam Williams-Dixon (64), and C.J. McDonald (35) — albeit the latter in more limited action — all looked good.
As important as that was to see, it was even more important to see the offensive line opening holes that allowed those running backs to routinely gain three to five yards without being touched. If Ohio State’s offensive line can play opposing defenses that well in games that matter, it’ll be a great 2025 for the running game.
Although Lincoln Kienholz started with the first teamers at the beginning of the game and Julian Sayin started with the twos, the latter looked like the more game-ready quarterback. Kienholz’s first drive was riddled with nervy throws that missed open receivers.
Sayin looked poised and in command of the offense, and he threw accurate passes. Sayin completed 17 of his 24 attempts for 175 yards and a touchdown. Mylan Graham could have given him another touchdown pass but stumbled out of his break and couldn’t get his second hand up to catch a pass while wide open in the end zone.
More than his accuracy, Sayin looked like he understood what he was seeing on the field and making the appropriate reads and check downs.
It’s a long-running joke that every year is “the year of the tight end” at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have had some great tight ends, but the receivers have been so good, it’s almost a win for the defense to check down from Jeremiah Smith to Jelani Thurman.
Transfer Max Klare, who scored a touchdown in the Spring Game, is the kind of tight end who could have a huge year if Ohio State’s play calling allows him to. Klare should blast past any linebacker assigned to cover him. He runs great routes, gets open, and snatches the ball out of the air well.
Klare should be able to soften up any defense that keeps its safeties wide to compress the room Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, and others have to work in.
Redshirt freshman Graham looks like a future star who might not have to wait long to enjoy that future. His long catch and run for a touchdown was a highlight, but Graham did a lot of good things in the Spring Game, and he must get snaps in 2025.
I think he will get those snaps, much like Tate and Inniss each got on the field early, but Graham may end up better than both of them, and there is a greater than zero percent chance that he finishes 2025 not only as a starter, but perhaps even the team’s second-leading receiver.
All of the above is about the offense, but there were good performances on the defense as well, although the format of the Spring Game is not necessarily conducive to flash on defense, especially for the starters who left the game after only a few snaps. Sonny Styles showed up early in the game and made a few plays, including a tackle for loss on a Donaldson run.
Aaron Scott Jr. was a defensive back who made some plays. Although he was also on the ground for the missed touchdown Graham couldn’t haul in from Sayin, Scott made several good plays in coverage, including an effective pass breakup in the end zone on Graham.
Inky Jones made a great break on the ball for his third-quarter interception after Eric Mensah put pressure on Tavien St. Clair. Faheem Delane’s interception also was the result of a great read and a quick, decisive undercut of the route.
Staying with the secondary, Lorenzo Styles Jr. made a great pass breakup down the sideline on Graham. Jaylen McClain broke up a pass in the end zone that was all but caught already by Thurman.
Finally, Logan George pressured the quarterback on a couple of successive plays early in the game. Linebacker Payton Pierce had a big pop on Donaldson on the game’s second series as well.
All of the above could be good omens for the 2025 Buckeyes. Losing such integral pieces at quarterback, the top two running back spots, and along the offensive line, probably the most optimistic takeaway was the running game, but we’ll see the fall if the Buckeyes can do that against a defense with a game plan and no restrictions on who (or how hard) they can hit.
Continue reading...
Michael Citro via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Photo by Ben Jackson/Getty Images
Several performances and plays from the OSU Spring Game were potential harbingers of good things for the upcoming college football season.
Sure, this may be the latest Ohio State Spring Game story in the history of OSU Spring Game stories, but I didn’t want to interrupt the three-week countdown ranking the touchdowns from the Buckeyes’ national championship run. I also wanted to have the opportunity to watch the Spring Game a couple of times, so waiting to write this column afforded me the chance to do that.
It’s easy to overreact to a glorified practice like the OSU Spring Game. It looks like a football game, so it gives the appearance that the things happening on the field are transferrable. Some things are transferrable, but it’s still a scrimmage. Game planning isn’t a part of it and it’s impossible to gauge how aggressive the defense is, knowing they aren’t going to be allowed to blow up the quarterback, running backs, and receivers the way they could in a real game.
That tendency to overreact is why I wanted to get multiple looks to see if there was anything that might translate into the 2025 season. I definitely saw some things I liked, and I’m not going to read too much into the defense not getting more stops or making more big plays. I believe the rules of the Spring Game tend to hinder the defense playing more like it would in a real game.
This is what stood out to me:
Take a Bow, Running Game
One of the big questions for 2025 is how Ohio State can replicate the success the Buckeyes had in the run game in 2024 with both Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson leaving and the offensive line getting rebuilt on the outside. The offense may have partially shown the answer in the Spring Game.
Again, taking into account the fact that sometimes whistles blew without contact and the defense not being allowed to tee off, the running game was impressive. Bo Jackson (88 yards), Sam Williams-Dixon (64), and C.J. McDonald (35) — albeit the latter in more limited action — all looked good.
As important as that was to see, it was even more important to see the offensive line opening holes that allowed those running backs to routinely gain three to five yards without being touched. If Ohio State’s offensive line can play opposing defenses that well in games that matter, it’ll be a great 2025 for the running game.
Julian Sayin Looks the Part
Although Lincoln Kienholz started with the first teamers at the beginning of the game and Julian Sayin started with the twos, the latter looked like the more game-ready quarterback. Kienholz’s first drive was riddled with nervy throws that missed open receivers.
Sayin looked poised and in command of the offense, and he threw accurate passes. Sayin completed 17 of his 24 attempts for 175 yards and a touchdown. Mylan Graham could have given him another touchdown pass but stumbled out of his break and couldn’t get his second hand up to catch a pass while wide open in the end zone.
More than his accuracy, Sayin looked like he understood what he was seeing on the field and making the appropriate reads and check downs.
Max Klare is a Weapon
It’s a long-running joke that every year is “the year of the tight end” at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have had some great tight ends, but the receivers have been so good, it’s almost a win for the defense to check down from Jeremiah Smith to Jelani Thurman.
Transfer Max Klare, who scored a touchdown in the Spring Game, is the kind of tight end who could have a huge year if Ohio State’s play calling allows him to. Klare should blast past any linebacker assigned to cover him. He runs great routes, gets open, and snatches the ball out of the air well.
Klare should be able to soften up any defense that keeps its safeties wide to compress the room Smith, Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, and others have to work in.
Speaking of Weapons...
Redshirt freshman Graham looks like a future star who might not have to wait long to enjoy that future. His long catch and run for a touchdown was a highlight, but Graham did a lot of good things in the Spring Game, and he must get snaps in 2025.
I think he will get those snaps, much like Tate and Inniss each got on the field early, but Graham may end up better than both of them, and there is a greater than zero percent chance that he finishes 2025 not only as a starter, but perhaps even the team’s second-leading receiver.
What About the Defense?
All of the above is about the offense, but there were good performances on the defense as well, although the format of the Spring Game is not necessarily conducive to flash on defense, especially for the starters who left the game after only a few snaps. Sonny Styles showed up early in the game and made a few plays, including a tackle for loss on a Donaldson run.
Aaron Scott Jr. was a defensive back who made some plays. Although he was also on the ground for the missed touchdown Graham couldn’t haul in from Sayin, Scott made several good plays in coverage, including an effective pass breakup in the end zone on Graham.
Inky Jones made a great break on the ball for his third-quarter interception after Eric Mensah put pressure on Tavien St. Clair. Faheem Delane’s interception also was the result of a great read and a quick, decisive undercut of the route.
Staying with the secondary, Lorenzo Styles Jr. made a great pass breakup down the sideline on Graham. Jaylen McClain broke up a pass in the end zone that was all but caught already by Thurman.
Finally, Logan George pressured the quarterback on a couple of successive plays early in the game. Linebacker Payton Pierce had a big pop on Donaldson on the game’s second series as well.
All of the above could be good omens for the 2025 Buckeyes. Losing such integral pieces at quarterback, the top two running back spots, and along the offensive line, probably the most optimistic takeaway was the running game, but we’ll see the fall if the Buckeyes can do that against a defense with a game plan and no restrictions on who (or how hard) they can hit.
Continue reading...