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Spring Practice No. 1 in the Books: Takeaways, Updates from Ryan Day

by Caroline Rice1 comments

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Buckeyes opened up spring practice on Tuesday. The media was invited to watch the first few periods, about the first 30 minutes of practice.

Afterward, head coach Ryan Day answered questions from the reporters on hand about what was seen during the session and provided updates on the team. Here are some of the takeaways.

Practice Notes

At quarterback, Kyle McCord was first in the QB line, and Devin Brown, who was wearing No. 33, was next up.

Coach Ryan Day shared in early February the names of the Buckeyes who will not participate in spring drills because of carryover injuries from 2022 season, surgery, or subsequent rehabilitation. Those individuals include wide receivers Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, running backs TreVeyon Henderson, Evan Pryror, and TC Caffey, linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Mitchell Melton, center Jacob James, and safety Kourt Williams.

Henderson and Melton however, were participating in drills on Tuesday. Melton was workout out as the second-string defensive end, while Henderson was participating only in the stretching and warmups before individual drills.

Chip Trayanum followed Miyan Williams in the running back line, and Dallan Hayden was third.

With Egbuka out, Marvin Harrison Jr. was the first-team punt returner. Kaleb Brown was the second-team returner, and he was followed by Jayden Ballard.

Ballard and Josh Proctor were repping with the first-team gunners.

At safety, Proctor and Lathan Ransom were with the 1s, followed by transfer Ja’Had Carter and Cam Martinez.

Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock were repping with the 1s at cornerback, followed by transfer cornerback Davison Igbinosun and Jyaire Brown.

Ryan Day Updates

+ He is hoping to get to practice outside some this spring with the weather. That will also help open up punt returns.

+ Marvin Harrison Jr. is moving around a bit, they want him to grow and they are trying to build his tools and package.

+ On the depth at certain positions, Day said on offense, running back and receiver they are strong, same with tight end, and it’s been a while since they’ve had this many scholarship quarterbacks which is good, offensive line is an area where they have to build depth and replace a lot of talent. On the defensive side, Day said he feels good about the first group and a half up front, but they have to keep building the 2s and 3s, linebacker is the same thing, safety and corner is where they added some transfers for depth but he hopes to get a better idea of where everyone is at after spring break. But they are always trying to build depth because they know they are going to need it.

+ Sonny Styles has a bright future, “he can do a lot of things for us.” He is a playmaker and he’s going to play a lot of football.

+ Davison Igbinosun is a guy who wants to compete. He did a good job of establishing himself early on, which is not always easy to do. He has been impressed with the competition there.

+ Denzel Burke had a really good first day.

+ The quarterbacks are going to compete and get a lot of reps. They are running three groups right now, so there are a lot of reps to go around.

+ On the defensive changes from year one to year two of Jim Knowles, Day said he is more familiar with it now and is able to give more feedback.

+ He was roaming around practice a bit in the beginning but then found himself back with the quarterbacks. They have a technology that allows them to watch practice on an iPad so he was bouncing around a bit watching from that.

+ Melton has been cleared for individual drills. He has a really good pass rush ability and speed. They want to be smart and bring him back the right way.

+ On the offensive line and the tackles, Day said Josh Fryar was moved to left tackle because of his experience, he felt comfortable with that. “I don’t think anybody looked out of place.”

+ “This is a very, very big spring for the second-year receivers.”

+ Henderson is itching to get out there, his rehab is going well and his attitude is unbelievable, but he’s not ready yet. Coach Mick [Marotti] has had to pull him out of mat drills at times he jumped into them with a boot on. “He’s dying to get out there.”

+ He is looking for leadership from the quarterbacks in their competition.

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One Response

  1. I really like reading through a post that can make men and women think. Also, thank you for allowing me to comment!

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