Ohio State Fall Practice Report: Buckeyes Going Viral, Latest On QBs

COLUMBUS — The Buckeyes were back on the football field for practice No. 7 of fall camp, but not everyone was in attendance as a nasty stomach bug has hit the offensive line and others.

Ohio State was without left tackle Josh Simmons, guard/center Carson Hinzman, backup tackle George Fitzpatrick, starting middle linebacker Cody Simon, and others came and went throughout the day. Head coach Ryan Day spoke after practice about the situation.

“We do have a little bit of a funky virus going on with that group right there, so they’ve been kind of in and out,” Day said. “We’re hoping to flush that out by the end of the week.”

Without Simmons available, redshirt freshman Austin Siereveld was getting quite a bit of time with the ones at left tackle. He is normally the No. 2 left guard. Backup left tackle Zen Michalski practiced but also appeared limited.

Making any broad, sweeping judgments on the offensive line from today’s practice would be a mistake because they were undermanned throughout and maybe under the weather as well.

There are 16 scholarship offensive linemen on the team and at one point there were only 12 practicing today.

Day also said after practice that there has been no clarity in the competition at right guard, which appears now to be between Carson Hinzman and Tegra Tshabola.

The Quarterback Competition

Fifth-year senior quarterback Will Howard took the reps with the first team today, followed by redshirt sophomore Devin Brown with the twos. Redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz took third-team reps for most of the day until the final period or so when those snaps went to true freshman Julian Sayin.

Howard started a bit slowly in the first half of practice but turned it on down the stretch and made some nice throws, including one down the sideline to freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith for about a 40-yard gain on cornerback Davison Igbinosun who had fantastic coverage. Howard did throw an interception to cornerback Denzel Burke on an out route.

Brown also had a very good and consistent day, including a span of a few periods where he completed six of seven passes, capping it with a touchdown pass to tight end Jelani Thurman in the corner of the end zone. Brown also hit receiver Jayden Ballard on a deep shot down to the 1-yard line. Ballard has been consistent throughout camp as well.

Sayin had some aggressive throws on the day. He began by connecting with tight end Gee Scott on a wheel route for a big gain. Later on he hit receiver Bryson Rodgers for about a 65-yard touchdown pass down the sideline. He ended practice by hitting freshman receiver Mylan Graham in the back corner of the end zone in 11-on-11.

Sonny And Share

The competition and rotation between CJ Hicks and Sonny Styles at Will linebacker continued again on Thursday, but today it was mostly Hicks with the first group and Styles with the second group. Due to Cody Simon’s unavailability, Gabe Powers was running with the ones and Arvell Reese was with Styles in the second group.

Styles was with the ones last week, but both players are expected to see the field extensively this season.

Emptying The Notebook

+ The Big Ten Network was on hand today, so look for action from today’s practice on BTN at some point today or tonight.

+ Defensive back Lorenzo Styles, Jr. is the only Buckeye wearing a no-contact green jersey. He’s been slowed all camp long but was taking part in some 7-on-7s today.

+ Redshirt sophomore defensive end Kenyatta Jackson went down with an injury to his lower ankle/top of his left foot. He was down for a few minutes in pain but eventually got it taped up again and he stayed on the sideline. He eventually walked off and did some jogging. He may be slowed the rest of the week but there didn’t appear to be too much worry.

+ Today was the most I’ve seen freshman receivers Damarion “Toe” Witten and Mylan Graham get targeted by the quarterbacks in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7. To no surprise, they also made some plays. Good signs all around for the both of them.

+ At one point in practice, a siren started going off and over the PA it was announced that there was a “Situation,” and that situation was an emergency two-point conversion attempt was needed. So the first-team offense and first-team defense ran down to the goal line for a two-point attempt. Safety Lathan Ransom got into the backfield instantly and stifled the TreVeyon Henderson rush attempt up the middle.

+ The offense struggled during a period of inside drills today. The period is all running between the tackles, which also featured a mismatched offensive line throughout. The defense also knows that the run is coming, but before you try to say that knowing a run is coming would give them an advantage, I have been informed by Michigan fans and some members of the Michigan and national media that even if you know whether a run or pass is coming, you still have to make the plays. Nice try coping, though.

+ Much more coming on the Buckeye Huddle message board throughout the day.

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