This week in Ohio State football: Buckeyes have a plethora of options on offense

Three receivers? Two receivers? One?

What about none?

Yes, that last personnel grouping — one running back, four tight ends, also known as “14″ — appeared in the win over Western Michigan two weeks ago.

While it is sure to be rare, going that heavy at all displays the commitment to trying new things brought by new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly and provides the biggest piece of evidence a new day has dawned for the Ohio State offense.

A spread team since 2012 and a pass-happy offense in more recent seasons under head coach Ryan Day, the Buckeyes appear to be more committed to balance and variety with Kelly in Columbus.

The ability to put four tight ends on the field at the same time also represents a potential answer to one of the bigger questions of the offseason.

Just a month ago, Ohio State coaches were fielding questions about whether or not they would have one or two game-ready players at the position.

In the first two games, they displayed confidence in the top two — senior Gee Scott Jr. and Ohio transfer Will Kaczmarek — while getting reps for youngsters Bennett Christian and Jelani Thurman as well.

“I think it’s a credit to those guys in that all playing time here is earned,” Kelly said. “So you when you say, ‘Hey, we’re going to run three-tight end formations,’ it’s not, ‘Well, whatever three tight ends are there.’ That conversation comes up in staff meetings because we really believe in those guys and see what they can do.

“So the four of those guys have really earned it, and I think we’ll continue to work through some of those packages and see what’s the best fit for those guys.”

Deciding what to do week to week is not as simple as picking one personnel grouping, though.

More snaps for one mean fewer for another.

When a team has as many talented receivers as Ohio State, taking one off the field is less appealing.

It also makes for healthy competition between position groups.

“Guys are fighting for opportunities to get in the game and play, whether it’s two backs in the game — there’s pride in each unit to be able to do that,” Day said.

“And it’s a lot easier to do when you have more guys in a room so that if you take an injury, you still can be in that grouping where it’s a little bit harder when you put a lot of work in, and you invest in a grouping, and then one injury or something can happen, and then you’re completely out of that grouping. And now you’ve spent a lot of time during the week on that, and that’s a bad investment. So I think the depth of that room has allowed us to put a little more effort and emphasis in that group.”

Although the Fullhouse (three backs) set Ohio State opened the spring game with hasn’t been seen in a game yet, the Buckeyes did put their top two running backs on the field together against the Broncos.

That is not likely to become very common, but Kelly said the varied skills of 219-pound Quinshon Judkins and 208-pound TreVeyon Henderson create intriguing possibilities.

“Well, the pros are if you have two really good ones, it puts a lot of problems on the defense,” Kelly said. “The other part of it is can one of those running backs play receiver? Can they line up in the slot? And we believe Tre does.

“Tre does it a lot, especially when we’re in empty sets and can be a mismatch from that standpoint. The cons are you have two running backs in the game at the same time. And what’s your depth at the running back position? How many running backs do you have? You always want to try to keep them fresh.”

Kelly, who developed a reputation as an offensive guru as offensive coordinator then head coach at Oregon before going to the NFL and returning to college, also noted developing an offense is a season-long task.

Citing left guard Donovan Jackson being out the first two weeks as an example, Kelly noted lineups change week to week based on injuries and player development.

“You don’t ever arrive and say, ‘Hey, now I know we are worth this,’ because that can change drastically with a sprained ankle or something where you’re going to have to adapt and improvise as the week goes on.”

Defenses have the ability to see what they are doing and adapt as well.

“So you may say, ‘Hey, man, you guys really ran the ball well against this team,’” Kelly said.

“Well, this team put 10 guys in a line of scrimmage, and we’re going to take it away, so we’re going to throw the ball over the top. There’s just a sheer numbers deal that you deal with that way, but you’re always learning because I think your lineup changes subtly — and sometimes drastically — as the season goes along, and you’ve got to be able to adapt to that.”