Ohio State head coach Ryan Day before the Ohio State-Clemson Sugar Bowl game. Ohio State won 49-28. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
Just a year ago, the Ohio State football program was enduring an indefinite shutdown of their spring practice period following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, head coach Ryan Day and his team enter the spring with a newfound sense of optimism as practices are expected to kick off Friday. With a return to normalcy beginning to creep in, Day said he’s remaining positive that the Buckeyes will be able to complete their spring practice period.
“Starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel here, starting to get some excitement going again,” Day said. “Our guys have been into it, I think they’ve had a really good seven weeks of training, the attitudes have been excellent.”
However, the 2021 Buckeyes have already faced adversity in terms of the virus as the team was forced to pause all activities for four days, starting March 9.
Comparing that short pause to taking a punch, Day said the shutdown emphasized that the team cannot get too far ahead of themselves in terms of the virus.
“We just started getting work done and it was just like ‘Oh my gosh, here we go again,’” Day said.
Although the Buckeyes have already dealt with a pause, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the program as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s declaration that all Ohioans above the age of 16 will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine March 29.
Along with DeWine’s announcement, Day said he will be receiving the vaccine Friday.
Although Day’s plans to get the vaccine have already been set, the Buckeyes’ coach said they’re still working on a plan to vaccinate the team.
“This is a huge step for us moving forward, so we’re really fired up about that,” Day said. “We’re gonna have a great plan here for that.”
As the Buckeyes will hold their first spring practice in over a year Friday and the COVID-shortened season holding freshmen and sophomores out of games, Day said they will be approaching the practice period as if they have “two freshman classes.”
Day said the focus this spring will be on hammering down the fundamentals.
“I love this time of year. I love the ability to learn and to teach for these young guys,” Day said.
With attention to the basics, the Buckeyes enter the spring with the need to fill several positions — including quarterback. Ohio State lost all eight captains from the 2020 season to professional pursuits or graduation.
The quarterback competition settles around redshirt freshmen C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and early enrollee Kyle McCord. As former Buckeye signal caller Justin Fields was the first quarterback to play for Day in consecutive seasons, Day emphasized the need to get the younger quarterbacks as many reps as possible heading into the season.
“We’re gonna try to get as equal an amount of reps as we can, we’re gonna rotate the guys the best we can,” Day said. “I see these guys getting a lot of reps, splitting them up as equally as possible and then competing.”
Aside from filling the quarterback slot, there will be two new faces protecting either Stroud, Miller or McCord, as Wyatt Davis and Josh Myers both decided to forego their extra year of eligibility.
One of those faces will likely be redshirt freshman Paris Johnson Jr., whom Day said can play a multitude of positions on the front line.
“He has some position flexibility. He’s so talented,” Day said. “He’s gonna probably start at guard this spring but he can easily move to tackle quickly.”
On the defensive end, the Buckeyes will need to replace all four of their starting linebackers — all of which played four or more seasons with the program.
“That’s gonna be interesting to see, in that room, who steps up,” Day said. “There’s a lot of production in that room that needs to be accounted for, so that’s going to be very important this spring.”
Day also pointed to the secondary, who lost top cornerback Shaun Wade to the NFL Draft, as a positional group on defense that will be hotly contested.
Although there are many spots for the Buckeyes to fill, Day emphasized that the ultimate goal of the spring period is to practice as much as possible.
“We have to make sure we get 15 practices,” Day said. “We need to keep guys healthy so they can get these reps and they get these body reps.”
