Ryan Day Debrief: Ohio State spring game format, Ian Moore moving at tackle
What we learned from OSU's head coach on Monday.
COLUMBUS — Four things we learned from Ohio State head coach Ryan Day on Monday following the Buckeyes’ 12th spring practice.
1. While many schools around the country are scaling down their spring games or eliminating them entirely, Ohio State plans to play football on Saturday.
“We’ll do a game,” Day said. “We’ll probably have a drive or two that will be thud (tempo), but after that, we’ll be tackling and playing a full game. We’re excited about that.”
If it’s going to cost to get into Ohio Stadium on Saturday (tickets are $13), then it should look something like a real game. The Buckeyes will be split into offense and defense teams, rather than splitting the roster into two equal teams, each with an offense and a defense. But otherwise, there will be blocking and tackling — a decent opportunity to see what this team is about in its 15th practice together.
One caveat: The Buckeyes are a little banged up at running back. Bo Jackson and Isaiah West have been out all spring. Turbo Rogers and Legend Bey have picked up injuries during spring practice and are unlikely to be available. That leaves Florida transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson, freshman Favour Akih and walk-on Stanley Jakcson Jr. as the top three options at running back.
Prepare to see a lot of throwing on Saturday.
“We’re down running backs, so we’ll have to throw the ball some, which is good for the quarterbacks to see how they handle the environment, and you get a chance to see the ball in the receivers’ hands, see what they do, plus pass rush and pass protection,” Day said. “Not that we won’t run the ball, but you probably won’t get as much of that.”
Ohio State’s spring game will kick off at noon Saturday and be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. We’ll be live after the game, initially on our YouTube channel, and then here on Substack, taking questions and thoughts from our subscribers about the spring game. Make sure you’re subscribed so you can participate in the show.
2. A lot of passing should provide ample opportunity to get a look at a couple of new offensive tackles getting run with the starters. With Austin Siereveld and Phillip Daniels down as they recover from minor medical procedures, Ian Moore and Carter Lowe have stepped up into starting roles.
It’s a good chance for both to show how they’ve developed as they butt heads with Ohio State’s starting defensive line, but it’s especially important for Moore as he chases down a potential starting job this fall.
If this goes well for Moore, he could slot in either as starting right guard or starting tackle, which would then move Siereveld inside to guard. So far, it sounds like Moore is doing his part to make that interesting.
“Ian has done some really good things,” Day said. “That’s been great. I think that he understands, going into this year, with some time under his belt, that we need him to step up in a big way for us. I don’t know exactly what the grades look like, but overall, he has certainly gotten better. He’s gonna have an opportunity to play himself into a starter role. Whether he does and takes the next, final step or two, we’ll have to see. But he’s certainly going to be in the conversation.”
My official prediction for OSU’s starting offensive line against Ball State is Moore at left tackle, Luke Montgomery at left guard, Carson Hinzman at center, Siereveld at right guard and Daniels at right tackle. I think that’s the best combination of the best five. I’m not sure Ohio State is all the way there yet, but Moore can keep convincing them.
We’re scheduled to talk with offensive line coach Tyler Bowen (and hopefully Moore) this week to get a better idea of where things stand. And Moore will be high up on the list of guys most worth watching in Saturday’s spring game.
3. Ohio State hasn’t had more than three receivers play at least 300 snaps in a season since 2019, when K.J. Hill (677), Chris Olave (509), Ben Victor (504), Garrett Wilson (457) and Austin Mack (386) shared the workload.
Last year, Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss accounted for 77.2 percent of OSU’s receiver snaps, and it was only that low because Smith and Tate missed time with injuries. In 2024, Smith, Tate and Emeka Egbuka played 81.8 percent of the snaps.
Smith will obviously lead the team in snaps this year, but beyond him, there isn’t a three-man configuration that should dominate snaps quite as much as the top trios have for the last few years. Said another way, the Buckeyes are likely to rotate more at receiver this year. That much has been apparent through spring practice, but Day amplified the conversation on Monday.
“I think a lot of guys are playing themselves into roles, and I feel like they can play for us,” Day said. “Still yet to be seen. We’re not gonna make any decisions coming out of the spring, but I think if the competition continues and the guys improve, you’re gonna see guys get opportunities. It’s been a little while since we’ve played six or seven receivers, but we’ve done it before. We do have a good room with good depth. That would keep those guys fresh.”
Smith, Inniss, incoming transfers Kyle Parker and Devin McCuin, and freshman Brock Boyd are all positioned well to play this fall already. Parker, McCuin, and Boyd have lost their black stripes this spring. Boyd remains the only true freshman to do so thus far. Fellow freshman Chris Henry Jr. and Jerquaeden Guilford will continue to push for playing time. Second-year receivers Phillip Bell and De’Zie Jones could factor in as well. (This conversation should also probably include Bey, a running back who will log some time in the slot)
The idea of rotating seven receivers seems unrealistic, especially if you assume that Smith will operate above that rotation — meaning he’s not coming off the field much. How the pieces fit around him will be interesting to monitor, and it opens the possibility of Ohio State playing more than three receivers at a time, something it has not done much at all over the last few years.
4. Two more transfers lost their black stripes after Monday’s practice: Tight end Hunter Welcing and safety Terry Moore.
That brings the list of players who have lost their stripes this spring to 12. Eleven of them are transfers. The list:
TE Hunter Welcing
SAF Terry Moore
CB Dominick Kelly
TE Mason Williams
DT John Walker
DT James Smith
WR Devin McCuin
DE Qua Russaw
LB Christian Alliegro
WR Brock Boyd (freshman)
WR Kyle Parker
SAF Earl Little Jr.
There will be three more chances for players to lose their stripes this spring: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Can players only lose their black stripes during practices or can they do it like at the end of a summer workout?
I'm losing track, but which transfers still haven't lost their black stripe? As opposed to incoming freshmen and walkons. I imagine it would be a bad sign for them if an experienced healthy transfer didn't lose their black stripe in the spring.