Practice Report: Ohio State has new faces, possibilities as spring practice kicks off

COLUMBUS — Ohio State is back on the practice field for a season anew but a number of old questions remains for the Buckeyes.

Still, for Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day and his team coming into spring football, there’s optimism. There’s also a new sense of organization on a coaching staff that required some tough off-season decisions.

“We’re at a level of college football where the competition is extremely high, the expectations are extremely high,” Day said last month. “I know that more than anybody. And so there’s an expectation that comes with that. I say it all the time: I have a great job, and I have a hard job. But one of the hardest parts about it is going through tough decisions. But at the end this is about more than that.

“This is about Ohio State football, and there’s a lot of people counting on this to be right.”

First and foremost on everyone’s mind is just how different new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles defense will look. At first blush, there’s a number of options on the table for Ohio State.

But there are still issues to address. The Buckeyes have four new assistant coaches and a number of new players working themselves into the team’s rotation. Unfortunately for Ohio State, a number of player expected to contribute this spring are missing in action. That’s a list that includes offensive linemen Harry Miller and Josh Fryar as well as potential defensive line starters in Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptisite.

The roster at Ohio State remains one of the country’s most talented and with a number of potential Heisman candidates leading the way on offense.

What were the key takeaways from the first practice of the spring for Ohio State? Lettermen Row is breaking down the day’s events in Columbus. Check out the video below.

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