Ryan Day provides format for Ohio State spring game, injury updates
COLUMBUS — Every day of spring practice at Ohio State includes winner-loser situations between the offense and defense, so it’s only fitting that Saturday’s intrasquad exhibition will pit the two sides of the ball against each other.
Fifth-year Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day revealed Wednesday that the “game,” for which Ohio State has already sold more than 50,000 tickets, will be Scarlet (offense) vs. Gray (defense).
Ohio State is set for a 12:05 p.m. kickoff. Day said that the first-team offense will face the first-team defense, and the second-team offense will face the second-team defense.
“The first couple drives with the ones will be thud. But everything else will be live,” Day noted.
Offense scoring will be traditional. On the other side, the Buckeyes defense gets six points for a takeaway touchdown, three points for a takeaway, three points for a three-and-out, two points for a sack and one point for a forced punt.
Day said the Buckeyes will play four quarters Saturday. He added that he might incorporate a running clock in the second half, perhaps just for the final frame. There will be a 10-minute halftime.
“The goal is to get these guys out there and be live. Get them in front of a good crowd,” Day said. “It’s supposed to be a great day.”
Most notably, redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Brown will not be participating. Day said Brown had a procedure on his throwing hand Wednesday for an injured finger. Day expects the second-year Ohio State signal caller to have a full summer and to be throwing again “real soon.”
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That leaves two scholarship quarterbacks for Saturday: junior Kyle McCord — who is competing with Brown for the role of QB1 this offseason — and seventh-year Oregon State transfer Tristan Gebbia.
“For Kyle and Tristan, great opportunity on Saturday to put it on the field. Because, ultimately, you can say that it’s the same — it’s not. It’s just not the same. Being here and practicing in just a small group, as opposed to being in the stadium.”
As for other injury-related news, Day said he isn’t sure if Syracuse transfer safety Ja’Had Carter will be able to go for the spring game. Carter suffered an apparent right knee injury on Student Appreciation Day earlier this month.
Day did say, however, that running back Miyan Williams — who has missed some time this spring with an undisclosed injury that Day believes is nothing long term — will be available for the “thud drives” Saturday.
Day said there will be a list of players who are “flat-out out.” But there will also be a group of players — such as wideouts Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming, linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and running back TreVeyon Henderson — who will dress and participate in 10 minutes of individual drills in warmups.
Then, of course, the final group is the players who are available to play in the spring game.
