Ohio State camp diary: Everything I saw and thought on the third day

The Buckeyes put the pads on for the first time on Saturday. Here's what stood out.

Ohio State defensive tackle James Smith takes the field for the third day of preseason camp. (Bill Landis, BAD)

COLUMBUS — A running diary of everything I saw and thought on the third day of Ohio State preseason camp.

8:44 a.m.: Practice hasn’t really started yet, but specialists are on the field kicking and punting. A few other media members and I are standing behind the uprights on the north end of the outdoor practice area, but Lettermen Row’s Spencer Holbrook and I are the only ones brave (stupid?) enough to try catching a ball off the foot of one of the kickers.

I attempt to snag one off the foot of Connor Hawkins (it went through the uprights first), but the ball smacks off my hands and hits the ground. Turns out that catching end-over-end kicks isn’t easy. I have a newfound respect for kick returners.

8:53 a.m.: The first position group to trickle out onto the field after the specialists is the offensive line. They’re in full pads. There will be some thumping today, but the Buckeyes still don’t tackle to the ground.

9:01 a.m.: Running backs coach Carlos Locklyn walks onto the outdoor field, and my eyes follow him all the way to his position group on the far end of the nearest grass field. There, going through early warmups with the backs, is freshman Legend Bey. Bey has missed the first two practices for what head coach Ryan Day said was a violation of team rules. He’s in full pads today. He’ll be a full participant. There won’t be any hesitation about mixing him in with the first-team offense.

9:08 a.m.: Every practice starts with a formations period, which is basically just a walk-through, but it’s a chance to get a look at potential starting lineups. That’s meant clocking what’s happening on the offensive line these last three days. This morning, it was Austin Siereveld at left tackle, Luke Montgomery at left guard, Carson Hinzman at center, Josh Padilla at right guard and Phillip Daniels at right tackle … but the Buckeyes will continue to mix things up today.

Defensively, things start out in a 4-3 look with Payton Pierce, Christian Alliegro and Riley Pettijohn at linebacker. After a couple reps, Pettijohn runs off the field and is replaced by freshman defensive back Jay Timmons, who puts the defense into a 4-2-5 nickel look. Everything we’ve seen so far suggests that Timmons will play with the starters in the 4-2-5, but we also might see an uptick in 4-3 snaps this year. There are at least four guys who seem like they’re going to play with Pierce: Alliegro, Pettijohn, and TJ Alford (who also gets looks with the ones throughout the day).

9:26 a.m.: Punter Joe McGuire still isn’t practicing. He’s around and always with the specialists; he’s just not kicking and not running. Not sure what’s up with him. We won’t speak to Day again until next weekend.

Quarterbacks and centers are going through snap exchanges. The centers are Carson Hinzman, Max Riley, Simon Lorentz, Mason Wilhelm and Josh Padilla.