Ohio State Football: Expectations for Spring Game
In just 13 days, the Ohio State football team will take the field at Ohio Stadium in front of upwards of 80,000 fans clad in the Scarlet and Gray of the Buckeyes.
During the Ohio State Spring Game We will get a view at the new coaches on the defensive side of the ball, incoming transfer QB Justin Fields and a look at improvement from the players we are already familiar with.
It goes without saying that while the Buckeyes bid farewell to phenomenal talent and a legendary coach at the conclusion of last season’s Rose Bowl, the expectations are still as high as ever. Coming off of a 13-1 season, the 2019 Buckeyes will have high standards to meet, and the Spring Game will be our first opportunity to experience what we might see this season.
In last year’s Spring Game, we got a look at what the Ohio State offense would look like, with JK Dobbins, Mike Weber, Demario McCall and Master Teague running rampant and quarterbacks slinging the ball around the field. We also got an insight into how the offense would run mainly through Dwayne Haskins, but a touchdown scramble from Tate Martell showed that he would be involved as well.
This year, a QB competition will once again be in focus. Instead of Dwayne Haskins, Joe Burrow and Tate Martell, it will be a chance for either Justin Fields or Matthew Baldwin to show Buckeye Nation which one of them belongs as the starting QB for the Buckeyes.
However, before we declare the Spring Game as the indicator, it is important to note that the player who many considered to have the best performance last year (Burrow: 15-22 passing for 238 yards and two touchdowns) was not even a member of the team once fall camp began.
The MVP of last year’s Spring Game, Demario McCall (11 catches for 165 yards and two touchdowns) will have a chance to show off once again from the hybrid running back role. Like Jalin Marshall and Curtis Samuel from the 2014 championship team, McCall works mostly from the backfield but shows incredible catching ability and will be important in making up for the losses of Mike Weber and Parris Campbell.
Along with Dobbins, McCall will hope to continue the recent tradition of a two-headed monster in the backfield to balance with the amazing quarterback and wide receiver talent at Ohio State, which will also be on display.
Now a look at the other side of the ball and the new guys on campus.