Things to watch for at Ohio State's spring football game
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- What was once called a "spring showcase" is now back to being a game. No matter what it's called, Saturday will be a chance for fans to see what the Buckeyes look like in their bid to defend their national championship.
After four weeks of practices, Ohio State will take the field at Ohio Stadium in an intrasquad scrimmage at noon.
"We'll break up offense and defense. The first part of that will be 'thud' for some of the guys who have played a lot of football," coach Ryan Day said. "Once that happens after a few drives, we'll get right into it and we'll be tackling. The quarterbacks will not be live, but everybody else will. And it'll look like a normal spring game."
Here are three things to know about the spring game.
The race to become start at quarterback
Since the national championship, the biggest question has been who will succeed Will Howard as starting quarterback. The race, which will likely continue into fall camp, has been among third-year veteran Lincoln Keinholz, second-year Julian Sayin, and newcomer Tavien St. Clair. Sayin appears to be the frontrunner, but Keinholz has made strides to make the competition interesting.
"It's fair to say Tavien has the longest way to go just because of the lack of experience," Day said. "Lincoln and Julian are pretty much neck and neck."
The game will be a big opportunity to see all three in pressure situations. Day has emphasized the need for the quarterbacks to get as many reps as they can this spring.
"We're at the point where we just need to make routine plays routinely. We've seen them make the spectacular. We need them to make routine plays and be consistent," Day said. "Sometimes that can be boring, but that's playing the position of quarterback. And all it takes is one or two plays to ruin your entire day. We've been there before."
Defense under Matt Patricia
One of the biggest changes in the Ohio State coaching staff this offseason is the hiring of Matt Patricia to become defensive coordinator. After nearly two decades in the NFL, which included three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots, Patricia returns to the collegiate level, taking over for Jim Knowles, who left for the same role at Penn State.
And after a few weeks of spring ball, Patricia has already gotten the trust and respect of his players, including safety Caleb Downs.
"A very NFL mindset. He is a really good teacher of the game. He makes everything simple for us to understand like that and he's done a really good job just being here, being supportive to the new guys that he's just meeting now," Downs said.
Patricia said he's looking forward to Saturday, which will be his first time in a gameday-like atmosphere at Ohio Stadium.
"Let's get in the Shoe. Let's get the fans there. Let's feel the environment, the energy," Patricia said. "One of the things defensively that you're trying to practice in this situation is communication. ... Our communication has to be on point. Our recognition has to be on point."
The versatility of Austin Siereveld
The offensive line went through many iterations last season because of injury, which emphasized the need for depth up front in order to win a national championship. Out of necessity, Austin Siereveld proved his versatility.
In December, the Lakota East graduate showed his skills by playing both right and left guard in the same game. This spring, Siereveld is taking it a step further, adding right and left tackle to his repertoire.
"My road is anywhere like they're going to find," Siereveld said. "I'm going to find a place to play, wherever, if it's left, right, inside, outside. Like I feel like they will find a place for me to play."
Guiding his development is new offensive line coach, Tyler Bowen, who joins the staff after spending two seasons as the offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech.
"Watching them on tape, I mean, that's what that's what ultimately allows me to know he can handle it," Bowen said. "Does he do his job on tape? Very little missed assignments."