Ohio State camp notes: QB updates, a loaded secondary and linebacker versatility

When Ohio State’s fall camp began on Thursday, it was not a surprise to see Cody Simon take his spot as the starting Mike linebacker.

Next to him, though, was Sonny Styles, as the will linebacker, a position he just switched to this offseason. Although it’s not the biggest storyline this summer, it’s one of the most important, because the Buckeyes have a tight battle going on between Styles and former five-star linebacker C.J. Hicks. Both players were the diamonds of the 2022 class, Styles was No. 12 player in the country and Hicks was the No. 7 player.

It’s been Styles, though, who has gotten the most snaps next to Simon, although Hicks has rotated in for a few drills, as well.

Despite the snap count looking one-sided, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said the battle is tight between the two standout athletes.

When Knowles spoke to the media on Friday, he talked about being more aggressive on defense and making sure the Buckeyes are disguising their coverages well this season.

A veteran secondary will help there, but so will versatility at linebacker. That’s what the trio of Simon, Styles and Hicks brings. Although Knowles bases out of a 4-2-5 defense, he knows that utilizing all three is important. That isn’t something that Ohio State is going to show this early in camp, but Knowles is thinking about it.

“They’re both neck-and-neck right now,” Knowles said of Styles and Hicks. “We have to continue to look at and create more ways to get all three of them on the field and take the nickel out. Our depth at nickel concerns me behind Jordan (Hancock), hopefully Lorenzo (Styles), who has been hurt, is coming back and will fill that. … I feel like we can get all three of them in the game a significant amount.”

There would be a smooth transition for all three, too, because Hicks already knows the will linebacker assignments and last year Ohio State was training Styles to play the nickel spot. If the Buckeyes want to move Styles to the will, Knowles also knows he can move Hicks around in various positions.

“C.J. has some demonstrated talent — we saw it in the spring — of making plays when he’s on the attack,” Knowles said. “I think Sonny can do that too so we’re developing more of those opportunities for the will position because we think we have the guys to do it.”

Often the talk going into camp is about position battles and in the first week there’s a panic about who is getting reps with the starters vs who isn’t. In this case, Ohio State knows it’s going to play Hicks, Styles and Simon this season and while it’s still figuring out how that will look when it’s just two linebackers on the field, all three of them will see playing time and sometimes together, as Knowles looks to find the balance between his aggressive nature and being conservative, as well.

Here’s a few other observations from Day 2 of Ohio State’s fall camp.

Quarterback update

There wasn’t a lot of new information gained about the quarterbacks on the second day, but it was more about consistency.

Will Howard had a slow start, he missed a throw on the run to tight end Jelani Thurman and he also had a pass deep down the left sideline that should’ve been intercepted, instead Jaylen McClain volleyball swatted it out of bounds.

That was early in the 7-on-7 period, but from there Howard had a pretty clean day. He stood tall in the pocket, threw on time and made some nice throws in coverage.

He had a tremendous throw to TreVeyon Henderson for a touchdown, on a wheel route. Then he let go of a picture-perfect throw to David Adolph deep down the left sideline. The ball was placed right over the safety and into Adolph’s hands, but he dropped it when hit by the safety.

I thought that would end as the best throw of the day, but Devin Brown showed him up. On the last play of practice, Brown threw deep down the middle of the field, splitting the safeties, to Bryson Rodgers and hit him perfectly in stride. The problem with Brown, though, is his inconsistency at times. That was the best throw of the day, by far, but just before that rep he threw the ball at a receiver’s foot instead of his hands.

Through two days we’ve seen good moments and bad from both quarterbacks. The one who is more consistent will win the job.

Secondary shining

Ohio State’s defense is making it hard on the quarterbacks.

The first two days of camp have seen a lot of checkdowns in 7-on-7 periods because of how good the defensive backs are, which is what many expected.

Ohio State may have the best secondary in the country with Denzel Burke, Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock, Lathan Ransom and Caleb Downs, leading the starting group. That’s five potential NFL Draft picks, four of which should come in April.

The defensive coaching staff isn’t getting creative by mixing up the reps, either. The starters have largely played together when the team periods begin and it’s led to some exciting moments.

GO DEEPER

Five observations from Ohio State’s opening day of preseason practice

Jeremiah Smith and Burke went one-on-one a few times on Friday, with one jump ball coming in the end zone but Brown put the ball a bit too high for Smith to bring it down while covered.

Burke had a pass breakup on Friday, but he wasn’t the only one. Hancock had a physical play against Bryson Rodgers right at the start of the seven-on-seven period. Throughout the day there weren’t many people just running around open.

Even the backups have performed well. On Friday, the second-team corners were Aaron Scott, Calvin Simpson-Hunt and Jermaine Mathews Jr., in the nickel spot. Again, they all played well, although Scott got beat deep on a one-on-one ball against Smith.

It’s early and there are no pads, but Ohio State’s secondary looks as good as the expectations say it should be.

Ohio State has a wealth of talent at defensive end right now led by J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer, but it also includes Caden Curry and Kenyatta Jackson Jr. Those are the four defensive ends that many expect to get the most snaps, but Melton looks ready to break out finally.

On Friday, he made an impressive play swatting a pass at the line of scrimmage while being blocked, showing off his strength and athleticism.

Melton has gone through a plethora of injuries in his career, playing just eight games since arriving on campus in 2021. Now healthy, Melton should be one of the rotating defensive ends.

Knowles acknowledged that rotating up front will be important this year and is excited to see what Melton can do when he’s healthy.

Drafting a defensive line two-deep from practice is nearly impossible because of how much they rotate. The amount of time that Sawyer has played alongside Tuimoloau in the first two practices has been minimal.

But you can see the talent with Mitchell no matter who he’s on the field with.

Hinzman missed the first day of practice with an illness, but was back on the field on Friday.

The third-year offensive lineman is expected to battle for a starting spot at right guard. That’s still the case, but he split time on Friday by taking some snaps at center as well.

When Hinzman wasn’t at guard, Luke Montgomery took snaps at right guard, along with Tegra Tshabola on the other field.

It’s likely that Ohio State is training Hinzman for both positions and setting him up to play all three interior line spots if asked. That would be a positive for Ohio State, especially if the competition can push Montgomery to rise up the depth chart.

I continue to believe that Tshabola will win the right guard battle, but the key for Ohio State’s fall camp is about more than just one starter, it’s also about depth.

Ohio State wants to find its starting right guard, but Hinzman cross training at center and guard will give them the chance to go into the season with seven linemen capable of earning reps.

(Photo: Doral Chenoweth / USA Today)