Ohio State football: Who to watch in the Spring Game

The Ohio State football team is about to play its Spring Game on Saturday. It will be the first nationally televised Spring Game in history. It will be on FOX at noon. I expect the ratings to be pretty high considering all of the intrigue surrounding this team this Spring.

When the game is played, there are certain players you should keep your eye on. The first one is the presumed starter at quarterback, Will Howard. Howard has four years of tape at Kansas State so we've all seen him play. We should know what we are getting out of him.

At the same time, we've never seen him have these kinds of weapons to throw to. His receivers are so much better than what he had when he was with the Wildcats. One of those weapons, Jeremiah Smith, might be the most talked about player when the game is over.

Smith already has some eye-popping plays in practice. I can't wait to see what he does when there is an actual game being played with fans in the stands. He could be the next great Ohio State receiver. Howard is good enough to get him the ball in good spots too.

Speaking of quarterbacks, I want to see how Julian Sayin and Air Noland look. The true freshmen aren't really in the running to start this year. But they certainly will be next year. Whoever performs better this Spring will have a head start on that job next season competing with Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz.

Defensively, keep an eye on how Sonny Styles looks at linebacker. His transition seems to be going well, but I want to see it on the field when players are actually flying around. He's an extremely talented player so I think he's going to be excellent at that position this season.

There's a lot to look forward to this Saturday. Once the Spring Game is here, it's truly Spring in Central Ohio!