Ohio State Buckeyes: Positions (other than quarterback) to watch during spring football

1. Linebacker

“We lost four guys there, so that’s going to be interesting to see in that room who steps up,” Day said. “There’s a lot of production in that room that needs to be accounted for, so that’s going to be very very important in the spring.”

Gone are Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, Justin Hilliard and Baron Browning. Next up are K’Vaughn Pope, Teradja Mitchell, Dallas Gant and Craig Young along with Tommy Eichenberg, Mitchell Melton and Cody Simon.

2. Safety

“I think in the back end there’s some guys who have done some really good things,” Day said. “Lathan (Ransom) stepped up in a big way late. Josh Proctor really flashed at times, and so there’s some guys back there that have done some things, but they weren’t as consistent or didn’t play as much as some of the other guys during the season so we really want to see how that back end starts to shake out as some new faces get in there.”

Marcus Williamson is another regular back, but this is a group that could be reshuffled after collegially struggling last season.

3. Cornerback

“Corner is a big position for us, and we have Sevyn (Banks) coming back, which is great, but also we need to build some depth there,” Day said. “There’s a lot of young faces in the back end. I think we’re off to a great start in terms of what we’re doing, so that’ll be exciting.”

Cam Brown, a regular early in the season before being injured, will be limited as he continues to recover, but veteran Tyreke Johnson and a handful of youngsters will be worth watching at this critical position where the Buckeyes also had issues last season.

4. Offensive line

Unlike the secondary, this was a unit of strength last season.

“Kind of an interesting situation there,” Day said. “We lose Josh (Myers) and we lose Wyatt (Davis), so those are two big losses inside so that opening will be fun to watch.”

Nicholas Petit-Frère and Thayer Munford give Ohio State perhaps the best tackle tandem in the country while Harry Miller is expected to replace Myers at guard. Paris Johnson Jr. is perhaps the most interesting player to watch in the competition to replace Davis while Matthew Jones staked a claim to a starting role while excelling in relief last season.

5. Tight end

Another position group coming off a strong year, the starter is certain (senior Jeremy Ruckert), but little is known beyond that.

“The other one that’s really to me very, very important is the tight end,” Day said. “Ruck is coming back and he’s going to do some great things for us excited about that, but losing Luke Farrell, he was probably one of the more you know under-appreciated guys in his time here. He did a lot of things for us. And so that second tight end in the game is going to be important for us, and finding out who that is and let that competition play out will be critical.”

Cade Stover and Joe Royer are the top candidates to earn more playing time here.