The last hour of Ohio State’s eighth spring practice on Saturday was open to students.
As part of the Student Appreciation Day practice, they gathered around the indoor field of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center as the Buckeyes went through their latest workout.
“It’s good for them to see them live and in color,” coach Ryan Day said. “During the games, they’re up in the stands a little bit further away. They get to see how it goes. It’s great to see the students out.”
The practice featured a mix of competitive periods that featured 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 with “thud” tackling, where players are hit but not brought to the ground.
Here are some notes and observations from the practice, which was also open to media members.
Carnell Tate, a freshman wide receiver who enrolled early in January, stood out as he took reps with the first-team offense and made a string of tough catches.
One of Tate’s best grabs came in 7-on-7s when he pulled in a pass along the sideline from quarterback Kyle McCord.
As he was being covered downfield by cornerback Davison Igbinosun, he kept at least one foot in bounds as an official ruled it a catch.
“He’s just making a lot of plays,” Day said, “and has to pick up a lot of offense. For a young player, he’s got a pretty mature route tree. He does a nice job at the line of scrimmage. Catches the ball strong, makes plays, all really encouraging signs.”
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The Buckeyes are without two of their three returning starting receivers this spring, as Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming are recovering from undisclosed injuries, leaving more first-team reps to go around for the underclassmen.
When asked if Tate might carve out a role within a deep position group this fall, Day said, “We’ll see.”
“If he keeps stacking these days, he’s going to get better,” Day added. “He’s here to play.”
The Buckeyes at times positioned Marvin Harrison Jr. in the slot, leaving Jayden Ballard and Tate as the outside receivers.
“It’s a whole different deal with him inside,” Day said. “They have to, on defense, decide how they want to double him.”
But Day also considered it as a way to help Harrison grow as a receiver.
He said it allows Harrison, a prolific 6-foot-4 pass catcher, to expand his route tree and prepare him for the NFL. He mentioned NFL teams have asked about other receivers’ versatility between outside and the slot. Harrison will eligible for the league’s draft for the first time next year.
“It’s a good thing to help with his progression and development,” Day said. “That’s something we want to do.”
He added, “We’ll keep working on that and we want to keep building on his route tree.”
Each of the quarterbacks competing for the starting job had a turnover, unlike last Saturday’s scrimmage when they were mistake-free.
McCord was picked off in a 7-on-7 period by Igbinosun, the transfer cornerback from Mississippi, as he tried to fit a pass underneath the coverage to freshman receiver Bryson Rodgers.
Later on, in 11-on-11s, defensive end Kenyatta Jackson forced Devin Brown to fumble.
Day deferred an evaluation of the quarterbacks’ performance until he reviewed footage, though he added that it “wasn’t ideal,” and the defense was determined to be the winner of the day after the offense prevailed in last Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Any time the offense doesn’t win, it’s going to be a quarterback’s responsibility to lead the team down the field,” Day said.
TreVeyon Henderson continued to recover from the surgery on his left foot by progressing to non-contact individual drills.
In a handful of periods early Saturday, Henderson caught passes and went through pass-protection drills with the other running backs.
“It was great to see him moving around again,” Day said. “You can start to see that energy and look in his eye. He’s been dying to get out here, so that was a great sign to see him out there in individual drills.”
Safety Ja’Had Carter went down with an injury during a 7-on-7 period and was assisted off the field by two trainers.
Day said he was encouraged that Carter’s knee was determined to be stable, though he will undergo further evaluations.
“Ja’Had’s had a really good spring,” Day said, “and hopefully we get him back real soon.”
Carter, who transferred from Syracuse, has started out as a nickel safety and rotated behind Cameron Martinez with the second-team defense.
Running back Miyan Williams and right tackle Zen Michalski did not practice because of unspecified injuries.
Day said neither issue was a long-term one and mentioned he remains hopeful Michalski will return at some point before spring practice ends in two weeks.
Michalski, who was the backup left tackle last fall, is competing with Tegra Tshabola to start at right tackle this season. Tshabola took first-team reps with Michalski unavailable.
Left guard Donovan Jackson was also held out at times, giving Enokk Vimahi first-team reps in his place.
Chip Trayanum broke off a long touchdown run during the final 11-on-11 period, outrunning cornerback Jyaire Brown deep downfield to reach the end zone.
With a majority of the running backs held out of team periods, Trayanum has taken the bulk of the reps with Dallan Hayden.
“He’s put in a great offseason,” Day said.
Trayanum switched to linebacker after transferring from Arizona State before returning to the offensive side of the ball to help with depth last October.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.
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