The Ohio State Buckeyes kicked off fall practice Friday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
It’s the first season of the Ryan Day era, with a new quarterback, four new offensive linemen, three open wide receiver spots, an overhauled defensive coaching staff, and more.
Almost the only thing that hasn’t changed is the expectations. The Buckeyes are No. 5 in the preseason coaches’ poll.
Friday after practice, Day and a handful of players met with the media.
They discussed that first practice and what they did over the summer to get ready for the season.
There were also some interesting answers from J.K. Dobbins on how he would grade his 2018 season.
Damon Arnette talked about what he reads and hears on social media, and Jeff Okudah discussed using this season as a springboard into his future.
Chase Young even shared some insight into his goals for the year and an interesting new drill that Larry Johnson has the defensive linemen working on.
Ryan Day
OSU Head Coach Ryan Day reviews the first day of the Buckeyes’ fall practice.
Posted by The Ozone on Friday, August 2, 2019
J.K. Dobbins
JK Dobbins
Posted by The Ozone on Friday, August 2, 2019
Chase Young
Jeff Okudah
Jeff Okudah
Posted by The Ozone on Friday, August 2, 2019
Austin Mack
Austin Mack is live.
Posted by The Ozone on Friday, August 2, 2019
Damon Arnette
Damon Arnette talks about why he came back.
Posted by The Ozone on Friday, August 2, 2019
The 2 guys I’m expecting the most out of are Damon Arnette and JK Dobbins. Both of those guys are tremendous athletes, but have only reached the level of good football players. Their ceilings are both way up there, now they need to go from the plateau they came out of 2018 on, and blow it through the stratosphere. Both of them have done the work, studied the game harder, now it’s just a matter of executing the little things they have worked on that can take them to that next level. I think Damon Arnette has a legitimate shot at becoming an All American in 2019 and being a 1st round draft choice following the season.
I wouldn’t call 2018 a “failure” for JK Dobbins, but, it certainly wasn’t a very good year either. Too often last year he looked more like a guy still in HS running the ball. In HS you can do silly things like hop step with 1 and even both feet off the ground. Do that at this level and you wind up with a miserable 4.6 ypc at a school where running back is synonymous with greatness, not average or below. 2018 was below average. If JK wants a pay day this time next year, 4.6 ypc isn’t anywhere near going to get him that check. When your an athlete at this level you have to have your body tuned. 12% body fat down to 8% while maintaining the same weight is huge. That means more quickness, more power and better endurance. He needs that ypc to be in the 5.8 – 7.0 range to earn his pay check. I think he’s going to deliver. Just like I think Damon is going to deliver. They know their job, they’ve done the work. Now it’s just executing.