What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder – The Fall Camp Cometh Edition

I know that fall camp is just four days away for the Buckeyes and we will be there on opening day at practice. There will be two full offenses going at the same time in order to get the quarterbacks enough work to give the coaches plenty of early data. That will only last the first four practices or so before things get pared down and the fourth and fifth guy will have to work more with mental reps.

I think Matt Rhule’s approach of two coaches per position is a good one. Some players need graduate level coursework and some still need to have the syllabus read for them. With the increased importance of development, coaching becomes more and more important. Makes me think back to Carlos Locklyn talking about how he’s not a recruiter, he’s a coach.

I wonder if Bodpegn Miller is a beneficiary of OSU’s need to expand the recruiting net. It makes sense to go with Ohio players who will theoretically be more likely to stick around long enough to be developed. Though in Miller’s case, where else would you want to get developed to play receiver?

I know it’s intriguing to think about how many Ohioans over the past 30 years would have been impact players at Ohio State had there been 105 scholarships available. But we don’t just need to limit that thought exercise to the state of Ohio.

I think a good baseline expectation for James Peoples this year is what Dallan Hayden did as a true freshman. Hayden carried the ball 111 times for 553 yards. If you give Peoples 111 carries, he’s going to put up over 600 yards. Off the top of my head, the true freshmen who have done that at Ohio State over the last 30+ years are Robert Smith, Maurice Clarett, JK Dobbins, and TreVeyon Henderson. If I’m forgetting anybody, cut me some slack please. I was told that Peoples will be the kind of running back that “keeps people in their seats in the fourth quarter of the blowouts.” I’m not doubting his ability but I do have some doubts about his allure being greater than beating the traffic. Of course, I say this as somebody who missed David Boston’s punt return for a touchdown against Pitt with eight Buckeyes on the field in 1996 because we wanted to pregame for a party.

I wonder what kind of expectations are too much for Jeremiah Smith. I promise you that Smith expects more from himself than others do – and half of us believe he’s a mutant. I think I had him at 1,000 yards receiving after maybe the first spring practice, but I was late in terms of thinking he’d start. That question was answered long ago and now it’s not even spoken of in question form. Ryan Day won’t necessarily say it but when he talks about needing receivers 4-7 to step up, he never mentioned JJ Smith among them.

To read more of this extended edition of What I Know, What I Think, What I Wonder, you can click here. Further topics include Will Howard’s development, the confidence in the offensive line, the two open positions on the offensive line, thoughts on freshman defensive end Eddrick Houston, what Ohio State will do when the scholarship limit rises to 105, how NIL has already changed OSU’s recruiting and need for development, and much more. You will need to be a premium subscriber, however.