COLUMBUS, Ohio – With spring workouts on the books, the Ohio State quarterback derby will transition into fall workouts.
That’s no surprise, given that the candidates to succeed star Justin Fields are two sophomores players and one real freshman. Neither has thrown a pass in a college match.
CJ Stroud, Jack Miller III and early-signed Kyle McCord all got enough action in Saturday’s annual spring game, but none of them got a clear advantage. Stroud and McCord each threw two touchdown passes into the controlled scrimmage.
“This was very similar to what was all this spring,” said coach Ryan Day. “Some good, some not so good and there are a lot of learning opportunities. There are flashes here and there, and then there are only a few learning opportunities. In the coming months the race is on to see who can take the next step.”
None of the quarterbacks were made available after the game, but teammates loved what they saw. Fifth-year offensive tackle Thayer Munford is confident that any of the three Buckeyes can lead when they enter the Sept. 2 season. in Minnesota.
“Whoever it will be behind me and the front line when we play Minnesota, everyone knows he will be the man,” said Munford. “I’m just happy with where our quarterbacks are now.”
Day returns for his third year as Ohio State head coach. He has 12 starters returning from the 2020 team that finished 7-1 in a season cut short by COVID-19. The Buckeyes won a fourth straight Big Ten championship and advanced to the national championship game, where they were routed through Alabama.
“The goal of number 1 was to come out [of the spring] healthy and we did, “Day said.” We really had a physical spring. It was great to get out and into the stadium and play. “
The game was played to a limited audience of about 19,000 fans, which was progress after the Buckeyes played home games all last season in a nearly empty Ohio Stadium.
NO KIDDING
The Big Ten Network reports that 2021 will be the first season since 1952 that the Buckeyes will start a quarterback who hasn’t thrown a college pass. That was the second year of legendary coach Woody Hayes’ 28 season-long run in Columbus. The Buckeyes then finished 6-3.
FRESH APLENTY
McCord belonged to a school record of 15 early enrolled freshmen enrolled in spring training. Other notables from the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class included Jack Sawyer, wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, and running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor.
TRAINERS ROOM
Ohio State went through spring drills with no several injured players expected to start in the fall. They include security guard Harry Miller, defensive tackle Haskell Garrett, middle linebacker Dallas Gant, and cornerbacks Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown. All are expected to be ready for the start of the preseason camp in August.