Ohio State football: 5 things to know from Ryan Day’s pre-Spring Game press conference

1. Day confirmed he isn’t close to picking a starting quarterback.

That did not come as a surprise, but it was worth mentioning since he had not spoken to reporters in a couple of weeks.

He said new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Chip Kelly has been rotating heavily at quarterback with true freshman Julian Saying in the mix along with senior Will Howard, sophomore Devin Brown and redshirt freshman Lincoln Kienholz.

2. The right side of the offensive line is “not solidified.”

Right guard was open at the start of the spring, and it remains so.

Centers Seth McFarlane and Carson Hinzman and tackles Luke Montgomery and Tegra Tshabola all have gotten looks there with Montgomery thought to be the frontrunner.

In an attempt to make sure they are getting the best five on the field, the staff also gave Josh Fryar some snaps at guard while Tshabola played tackle, but Day indicated Fryar is likely to be the right tackle again this season after starting every game there last year and getting into better shape in the offseason.

Day did not close the door on seeking help in the transfer portal next month, but he did not make it sound likely, either.

3. He chose Carlos Locklyn as the new running backs coach because of his “captivating story.”

Locklyn took over last week after two years at Oregon.

Day said he identified about a dozen candidates before narrowing that to four or five and settling on Locklyn, who worked in law enforcement before joining coaching high school football then worked his way up the ladder.

“First off, when you hear about Carlos’ story, it’s captivating,” Day said. “And then you start to listen to is his overall knowledge of the position, his aggressiveness in recruiting, the impact he’s had on people, the relationships he’s had with people. It was an absolute slam dunk for us. He’s already in a short period of time brought an edge and a toughness and aggressiveness that I think there’s going to be excellent.”

4. Day is comfortable with the running backs room.

Dallan Hayden’s reported decision to enter the transfer portal left the Buckeyes with four scholarship running backs, including true freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-Dixon.

The one-two punch of senior TreVeyon Henderson and junior Quinshon Judkins might be the best in the country, but that is not much depth if something happens to one of them.

“We’re looking for five, and so I think we’re in a situation where we’ll be at five,” Day said, presumably including T.C. Caffey, a veteran walk-on from Hubbard, Ohio. “If we need to add a sixth, we’ll look into that. But right now, I think we’ll be in a situation where we feel comfortable with five guys. "

5. He is optimistic he won’t lose too many players to transfer.

Including Hayden, nearly 20 Ohio State scholarship players have entered the transfer portal since the end of last season, and more could do so when the spring transfer window opens next week

While some talented players might be interested in finding someplace else where playing time is more immediately available, Day is optimistic that number will be low.

In part that is because he expects reserves to see lots of action this fall.

“I think guys want to be here,” Day said. “They want to be at Ohio State. They understand what it means to be a Buckeye. They see the opportunity this season. So I don’t see a bunch of guys that are just looking to run out the door. I think there’ll be a couple of different situations that maybe it does make sense for guys to maybe look at other places, but we’ll adapt as those happen.”