The Buckeyes were back on the practice field for the fourth time during spring camp. Media was not permitted to attend, but afterward reporters spoke with some of the Ohio State quarterbacks and safeties, including Dwayne Haskins, Tate Martell, Jordan Fuller, and Isaiah Pryor. Assistant coaches Ryan Day and Alex Grinch were also made available. Here is some of what they had to say.
Ryan Day
There is no pecking order at quarterback right now. They are still installing stuff. The pads have only been on for two practices.
Day is looking for competitors, toughness, leaders, football smarts, and great decision makers. They come in all shapes and sizes, especially on the OSU roster. They are looking for those traits in the eventual starter.
Asked if Dwayne Haskins has a leg up based on last season, Day said this is a new year and it’s ‘What have you done for me lately?’
Joe Burrow “is going to go after this thing.” They have a lot of respect for Burrow and he is going to fight like heck for the job. Whoever wins it, wins it. Whoever plays best will win the job, and it could be any of Dwayne Haskins, Joe Burrow, or Tate Martell.
Asked if the Ohio State offense will resemble that of the 2014 offense that won a national title, Day said he certainly hopes the offense resembles that of a national champion.
Alex Grinch
“At Ohio State we have big speed backed up by big speed. It’s fun to watch as a coach.”
The biggest difference between coaching at Ohio State and elsewhere that he has coached is “big speed.” Lots of places have big guys, lots of places have fast guys, but it’s unusual to have the kind of combination of big and fast that you have here at Ohio State.
The fight for the spot across from Jordan Fuller is still an open battle. Isaiah Pryor has been good so far, but it’s not his job to lose.
Isaiah Pryor is a worker. He’s big and long and he can run. The next step for him is to “cut it loose” and have the confidence that he knows it. Young players may know what they’re supposed to do, but they need to have confidence in order to play at their best and for the coaches to have the confidence to call a defense as they’d like. He is extremely strong and one of the strongest guys in the room. He is closer in strength to a linebacker almost.
There isn’t a lot settled at the safety spot in terms of game experience, so Pryor is competing every day to be that guy. He is getting a lot of reps with the ones.
Jahsen Wint has looked good at safety. He has some physical tools that they like.
Freshman Tyreke Johnson should be getting ready for prom or running spring track, but he has stood out. He has done nothing but competed since he’s gotten here, and that goes for all of the early enrollee freshmen.
Greg Schiano is floating around some and spending more time with the linebackers.
Isaiah Pryor
The safeties are rotating at both spots. Jordan Fuller has moved from the boundary side he was at last year to the field side. Isaiah Pryor is now at boundary, as opposed to the field where he was expecting to be in order to take over for Damon Webb. They are making sure that nobody is only locking into one safety spot.
Jordan Fuller
“We have all of the guys we need.”
Alex Grinch is a young guy with a lot of energy. Fuller loves to pick his brain on how he should play certain techniques. Grinch and Schiano have different styles, but they’re both good.
Dwayne Haskins
Spring ball has been hard, but it’s been good. The quarterbacks are all rotating with the ones.
Haskins doesn’t know if a starter or leader will be mentioned after spring ball. Regardless, he’ll have to keep working.
Haskins handles the pressure by holding himself to a high standard. He pushes himself and tries every day to prove that he is the guy.
The offense will always have some type of reads with quarterback runs, so he needs to make sure he is strong enough and physical enough to do that. “I prefer to throw the ball, but I can run if needed to be.” His first choice isn’t to run the ball. He won’t be as fast as Braxton Miller or J.T. Barrett, but he can run.
The running backs are really good, which makes it very easy for the quarterback.
Tate Martell
“I feel like it’s going oldest to youngest right now…” and then they all get pretty much even reps after that.
“I actually know what I’m doing out there now.” He is no longer just relying on his athleticism. “Half the time I would have to guess which signal I got.” He can make checks now.
“Regardless of who it is, I hope the coaches pick the best player out of the three of us.” That’s how everybody should feel if you want to win. “We’re all doing well.” It’s just the second practice in pads though.
All three quarterbacks are “all on top of our stuff” because they are being graded on everything. It’s no different without J.T. Barrett in the quarterback room because they’ve always taken things seriously. There’s never been a lot of goofing off.
“I take control of the huddle. It’s just a huge difference of where I was from a year ago.”
He said he considers it a true three-way quarterback competition. He said, “I didn’t come here to sit on the bench.”
He said it has been confirmed to him that there will be special packages for him to get on the field this fall.
He said the quarterbacks are all very close off the field, but said that’s kind of been how it has been at Ohio State for several years now. J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones were extremely close, even while they were battling for the starting QB job in 2015.
I hope you earn the job, Tate. I just want to see your high energy transferred to every position on the offense.