It’s finally game week for the Ohio State Buckeyes and Ryan Day’s Week One presser shed a ton of light on a handful of pressing questions entering the 2024 season. “Will a true freshman start at wide receiver?” “Will you watch the Connor Stalions documentary?” “Has someone stepped up in the right guard battle?” All kinds of hard-hitting questions were answered on Tuesday.
Day’s squad has high expectations for the season. Heading into Fall Camp, we listed off a handful of big questions that must be answered. Now, they have been answered.
Big Questions Answered in Ryan Day’s Week One Presser
“Yes.”
When it comes to coachspeak, Day is an expert. However, on Tuesday, he was asked very plainly if he expects true freshman Jeremiah Smith to be on the field for the first snap. He kept his answer short and sweet:
“Yes.”
Going into the season, there was a feeling Smith could crack the starting lineup at some point. Ohio State has recruited the position as good as or better than any program in the nation over the last decade. The 2024 receiver corps is unproven outside of Emeka Egbuka. Carnell Tate started a few times last year and got plenty of runs in the rotation but he only managed 264 yards and one touchdown off 18 receptions.
Smith has been making plays left and right in camp. He’s earned his way with the first-team offense and is expected to have the best season from a true freshman Buckeye receiver in history. Of course, that isn’t a high bar. Most Ohio State breakouts have been in year two.
Day also noted that Brandon Inniss, a four-star receiver who was the fifth-best in the 2023 class, is “right there.” A four-wide set of Egbuka, Tate, Smith, and Inniss could be lethal. It’s especially so when one remembers that three of those four will be back in 2025 to make whoever wins the quarterback competition’s job that much easier.
Offensive Line Settled
The biggest issue to be addressed in Ryan Day’s Week 1 presser was the offensive line. Technically, there was a battle for two positions on the offensive line: center and right guard. Seth McLaughlin, a 24-game starter for Alabama, was expected to win the battle at center over the incumbent, Carson Hinzman. It seems that that is the case.
At right guard, McLaughlin, Hinzman, Luke Montgomery, and Tegra Tshabola were taking reps at right guard to start camp. Now that it’s game week, Day has declared Tshabola as the starter. As Fall Camp went on, Montgomery kicked inside and is expected to be the second-in-line at center behind McLaughlin.
So now, the starting offensive line for the Buckeyes from left to right is Josh Simmons, Donovan Jackson, McLaughlin, Tshabola, and Josh Fryar.
Tshabola has been training at both tackle and guard in his Ohio State career and will take over as the largest Buckeye lineman at six-foot-six and 327 pounds. New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly (who, Day announced, will be coaching and calling plays from the coaches’ box and not on the field) raved about Tshabola earlier in camp. He loves Tshabola’s size but also the fact that he’s athletic enough to move at the size he’s at. Kelly said, “We like offensive linemen that are big because big people beat up little people.”
The offensive line has been one of the weaker points in the Day era and fans are getting impatient with offensive line coach Justin Frye. Perhaps this will be what gets the Buckeyes over the hump.
The Only Question on Defense
Ohio State’s defense is loaded. Cumulatively, the Buckeyes’ defense played 5,624 snaps last year. Of course, that number does not include All-American, Caleb Downs. All 5,624 snaps could be gone after this year.
While there was a question of who would take over at defensive tackle beside Tyleik Williams, the more pressing issue was at the WILL linebacker spot. Block O recipient and captain Cody Simon has the MIKE linebacker spot locked down but C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles were battling it out for the other spot.
According to Day, Styles will be the number-one guy at the position. Styles was a starting safety a year ago with Lathan Ransom missing time and flashed but also showed his inexperience. Through Fall Camp, it seems he’s settled into his own.
Despite all of this, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles raved about Hicks by saying, “I consider C.J. a one. You can see a combination there. You can see Sonny playing Mike and C.J. playing Will and Cody taking a rest. … All three of those guys are considered ones and should play equally.”
Hicks was also previously noted as a guy who excels when blitzing or in run defense whereas Styles is a better coverage linebacker. Either way, this is expected to be the most athletic linebacker unit in years, and it’s in good hands.
Our Honor Defend
The 2024 Ohio State season officially kicks off Saturday at 3:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time in Columbus, Ohio. Ryan Day’s Week 1 presser has unofficially kicked off the regular season in a big way. Buckeye football is finally here.
In addition to everything else, Day announced that Devin Brown, not Julian Sayin, would be considered the backup to Will Howard entering the season. Oh, and to answer the Stalions question at the top, no, Day is not planning on watching the new Netflix documentary.
