2022 Ohio State Spring Game Observations
My key takeaways and notes from our first live look at this Buckeye roster #LLDH7
-It was so great to be back in the ‘Shoe again. The Dwayne Haskins tributes were so touching and so well done. It’s so sad because he was literally in the midst of turning his life around. His best days were ahead of him. Sadly, we won’t get to see how his career panned out. A life lost too soon. Dwayne has been my lock screen on my phone for the last 5 years and I won’t change it now. RIP DH7
-Just soaking in the OSU campus atmosphere with my father was so memorable. The vibes were immaculate. And the spring game lived up to the hype. This team looks a lot different than last year already and the differences were quite notable; especially in the way the defense was flying around. Jim Knowles is up to something
-We already know the offense will likely be the most explosive in the country again. If Knowles can get the defense up to par, watch out. They still have so much work to do on that side of the ball, but I love what I saw from the young talent today. The secondary was attacking the ball in the air and it was so great to see the defensive line getting constant PRESSURE on the QB’s
-Notre Dame on Sept. 3 will be such an exciting opener. I expect us to roll by a few scores. As Buckeye fans, we expect perfection and that is very unrealistic. With that being said, this team easily has enough talent to win it all and anything less than that will be a disappointment
KEY OFFENSIVE TAKEAWAYS:
The offensive line is clearly still figuring things out. They were not good today. QB’s were under duress and moving out of the pocket far too often for my liking. The OL simply needs more reps. They obviously are not as big as last year’s statues, but they should be able to move around better. The pass-blocking probably won’t be as good as it was in 2021, but the run-blocking should be miles better than it was. Justin Frye is a madman, the schemes in the run game already look much improved
The RB’s looked good in the few snaps we saw today. We didn’t see much of Henderson, but that’s alright, we know what he can do. In one of the early plays of the game, I liked seeing us run a misdirection with Miyan Williams, which was unusual compared to last year’s playcalling. Williams looked visibly slimmer and faster. It will certainly take some time to get used to seeing $MIYAN wearing #3 now
Evan Pryor moves the needle, he gave me Parris Campbell vibes on his TD today. His speed is unparalleled in this room. I still want to see Miyan get some carries, but Pryor needs to be RB2 with the punch that he provides
I’m not sure how TE’s will be used in this offense, but it was lovely seeing Joe Royer catch a pass in the first quarter and then he followed it up with a TD a couple plays later on a dime by Kyle McCord #JoeRoyerWatch
Gee Scott Jr. was solid today, he’s very good at finding space. I just wish we utilized TE’s more
Devin Brown puts some serious zip on the pigskin. I want to see more of him, but he will be QB3 for awhile
I think CJ Stroud will win the Heisman and Jaxon Smith-Njigba will capture the Biletnikoff. They will be the favorites going into the season, so this is not a bold statement at all
KEY DEFENSIVE TAKEAWAYS:
Freshman safety Kye Stokes really stole the show today with 9 tackles and 2 PBU’s. He showed out all over the field. The secondary as a whole just seemed so confident. Their technique looks miles better. Jim Knowles gets the credit for that. The changes that he has installed this spring were quite evident, even if things were “vanilla” today. Nothing infuriates me more than when DB’s don’t turn their heads while the ball is in the air. The secondary trusted their instincts and didn’t give up any big plays today, it was a welcome sight to see
Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau were dominant today. We need more from the talented sophomores. If the defensive line can get pressure like they did today, the Buckeyes should get lots of coverage sacks. Noah Potter even got 2 sacks
Tommy Eichenberg had a game-high 10 tackles. If he plays anything like he did in the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes shouldn’t have to worry too much about our LB’s
This defense should be a top 30 unit and that will bode well for the team if they are. The sky is the limit. It will help the offense so much if the defense can generate as many 3-and-outs as possible, something they struggled with last year
We are in good hands with Jim Knowles