Scarlet Sunrise: Chris Holtmann believes Buckeyes players are 'confident and comfortable' in his future as head coach

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Chris Holtmann believes Buckeyes players are ‘confident and comfortable’ in his future as head coach

Chris Holtmann already entered the season with doubters because Ohio State had lost in the Round of 32 in three of his first four NCAA Tournaments as the Buckeyes’ head coach. Those doubters, and more, are in full force now that Ohio State has experienced a free fall in 2022-23. After a 10-3 start, the Buckeyes have lost 13 of their last 14 games, including eight straight.

That’s the program’s longest skid since 1997-98 when Ohio State dropped 17 games in a row. And the Buckeyes are trending toward their first losing season since 2003-04, the final year of the Jim O’Brien era.

“I never want to go through this ever again,” freshman point guard Bruce Thornton said Wednesday. “Doesn’t matter how long I’m a Buckeye, I just never want to have this feeling.”

The idea is that, with another top-10 recruiting class of four more freshmen, Ohio State won’t go through this next year, or anything close to this really. Earlier this month, Holtmann said that he and athletic director Gene Smith shared “an understanding months ago about how we wanted to shape the roster moving forward.”

Still, from the outside, questions about Holtmann’s future have persisted. Holtmann was asked Wednesday if he’s reassured his players about his job security.

“We’ve had that conversation,” Holtmann said. “So I think they’re confident and comfortable in that. And I think players are playing, and obviously they’re hearing the noise. And they’re as frustrated and disappointed. They carry it, certainly like all of us do. But yeah, those are those are conversations we’ve had.”

That was followed by another question: “And you expect to be here next year, correct?”

Holtmann quickly said, “Sure.”

Holtmann started four freshmen this past weekend in a 27-point loss at Purdue. He said that, before this season, he had never even started three freshmen in a game.

At this point, the remaining games are about building toward 2023-24, and that starts with the Buckeyes’ current batch of first years.

“Us being put in that environment just gave us great preparation for what we’re going to see in the future,” Thornton said of Sunday’s game at Mackey Arena. “I feel like we’ve put in enough work to have Coach Holtmann’s trust, and I feel like we’re going to keep growing from that.”

Zed Key to have season-ending shoulder surgery

Ohio State center Zed Key is shutting it down for the season. The junior is set to have surgery on his left shoulder, which he originally sprained against Purdue on Jan. 5 and then re-aggravated at Iowa last week. Key has been the Buckeyes’ leading rebounder this season with 7.5 boards per game. He’s also the team’s third-leading scorer with 10.8 points per contest.

Key initially missed only one full game after first injuring his shoulder in early January before returning for the next 11 games. He was sidelined Sunday at Purdue, however, and, after being evaluated in Columbus, the decision was made to end his season with four Big Ten regular season games to go.

“They just didn’t feel comfortable clearing him, which I fully supported,” Holtmann said Wednesday, in reference to his program’s medical staff. “And I know Zed and his family felt some relief in the sense that they could move forward and get the surgery done a little bit earlier and hopefully have a little bit of a longer offseason next year.”

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• What absence of Zed Key means for Buckeyes the rest of the way

Offseason Report: Why Dallan Hayden is in spotlight for Buckeyes this spring

Ohio State has a crowded running back room with a lot of mouths to feed. So crowded that the Buckeyes didn’t feel the need to sign a tailback in its 2023 recruiting class.

Injuries were a thorn in the side of what easily could have been a juggernaut position group this past season. TreVeyon Henderson and Evan Pryor are still completing their recoveries and won’t be participating in spring ball. That opens the door to more reps for the likes of Dallan Hayden and former Arizona State transfer Chip Trayanum. Going on Year Four, Miyan Williams won’t need too much run at this point of the offseason.

The Lettermen Row crew thinks Hayden, in particular, can step up this spring. It’s an opportunity for him to get some work in after a productive true freshman campaign that saw him rush for 553 yards.

Spencer Holbrook, Tim May and Andy Backstrom are back to break down Hayden and other crucial Buckeyes players and coaches this spring. Don’t miss the latest Offseason Report presented by Byers Auto, which can be found on YouTube every Wednesday during the offseason.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 191 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 275 days

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