Ohio State Fall Camp Practice Report: Practice No. 2

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The official start of the 2022 football season began Aug. 4 with the Buckeyes beginning their first of 25 fall camp practices leading up to the season opener against Notre Dame on Sept. 3. Ohio State took the practice fields at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center again on Friday for practice No. 2.

The media was invited to watch stretching and the first four periods of practice, which is about the first 30 minutes. Although we were booted early on and it’s still very early in camp season, it was still enough to put together some observations.

Offense

Veteran C.J. Stroud led the quarterbacks and was followed by backup Kyle McCord and freshman Devin Brown who looked solid.

The first team offensive line featured Paris Johnson Jr. at left tackle, Donovan Jackson at left guard, Luke Wypler at center, Matthew Jones at right guard, and Dawand Jones at right tackle. The second team offensive line had Zen Michalski at left tackle, Enokk Vimahi at left guard, Jakob James at center, Trey Leroux at right guard, and Josh Fryar at right tackle.

Cade Stover led the tight ends and was followed by Gee Scott Jr., Mitch Rossi, and Sam Hart.

Wide receiver Kamryn Babb appeared healthy and was catching passes from Stroud, McCord and Brown. Jaxon Smith-Njigba led the way through drills followed by Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming, Kamryn Babb, Xaiver Johnson, Jayden Ballard, Kiyon Grayes, Kojo Antwi, Kaleb Brown, Caleb Burton, Reis Stocksdale, and Joop Mitchell.

Defense 

Cody Simon still had a brace on his shoulder but he appeared to be going through drills. Mitchell Melton was the only player unavailable for practice.

Freshman Caden Curry was practicing with the defensive line unit on Friday but participated in linebacker drills on Thursday, which could indicate that he’s a candidate for the new “Jack” hybrid defensive end/linebacker position.

Ronnie Hickman, Kye Stokes, and Sonny Styles were repping at free safety, Josh Proctor, Kourt Williams, Jantzen Dunn, and Jaylen Johnson practiced at strong safety, and Tanner McCalister and Cam Martinez were at nickel.

Tyler Friday, Jerron Cage, Taron Vincent, and Zach Harrison led the defensive linemen through drills. They were followed by Jack Sawyer, Ty Hamilton, Tyleik Williams, and J.T. Tuimoloau.

Other Notes

Jaxon Smith-Njigba opened at punt returner, followed by Emeka Egbuka, Cam Martinez, and Kaleb Brown.

Kicker Jake Seibert practiced at cornerback for the second day in a row.