Ohio State finished spring practice over the weekend.
Saturday's spring game was the last of 15 practices, allowing the Buckeyes to move on to the next phase of their offseason.
With the transfer portal opening this week, further roster shuffling remains a possibility, but it's worth taking a look at the pecking order of the various position groups at this point.
Following spring practice, here is the projected depth chart for next season as updated by The Dispatch.
quarterback
starter: Will Howard (Senior)
backup: Devin Brown (Republican), Julian Thain (Republican), Lincoln Kienholz (Republican), Eyre Noland (Republican),
Brown performed well enough in spring practice to make it clear he shouldn't be overlooked in the competition behind center, but there are open questions as to whether that was enough to oust top prospect Howard. Remaining. Howard, a veteran transfer from Kansas State, started in the spring game. The biggest development could involve Sane, a freshman who has generated enough buzz to get some attention.
run back
starter: Treveyon Henderson (senior)
backup: Quinshon Judkins (Jr.), James Peoples (Fr.)
There are no changes at the top of the depth chart, which features Henderson and Judkins, but a new third running back. Redshirt sophomore Darran Hayden is expected to put his name in the transfer portal after missing practice last week, and James Peoples will slide into the rotation. Peoples was one of two scholarship students who enrolled a semester early to participate in spring practice.
wide receiver
starter: Emeka Egbuka (Senior), Jeremiah Smith (Fr.), Colonel Tate (Soph.)
backup: Jaden Ballard (rJr.), Brandon Inniss (Soph.), Bryson Rodgers (rFr.)
The more Smith garnered attention for his highlights during spring practice, the harder it became to imagine him breaking into the starting lineup and not breaking the mold of Ohio State's freshman wide receivers. Although he did not start in the first-team offense during Friday's open practice or the following day's spring game, he felt it was inevitable that he would be in a starting position by August, and he primarily wanted to keep Egbuka in that slot. I'll probably leave it there.
more: Ohio State football freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith gets high praise from Jim Knowles
tight end
starter:Ge Scott Jr. (Senior)
backup: Will Kakmarek (rJr.), Jelani Thurman (rFr.)
In practices open to the press, Scott showed a steady presence as a first-team tight end. Kakumarek has starting experience at Ohio State, and Thurman is an intriguing talent who is worth watching in the coming months, but Scott, who was Cade Stover's top backup a year ago, remains the best choice to replace him. He is the most likely candidate to start as a super senior. .
more: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman, and Adam Jardi.
offensive line
starter: LT Josh Simmons (r.), LG Donovan Jackson (sr.), C Seth McLaughlin (r.), RG Luke Montgomery (soph.), RT Josh Friar (r.)
backup: LT George Fitzpatrick (rSoph.) LG Austin Sealevel (rFr.), C Joshua Padilla (rFr.), RG Luke Montgomery (rSoph.), RT Tegra Tshabola (rSoph.)
The Buckeyes maintained most of their offensive line continuity in spring practice, with Fryer and Simmons at first-team tackles and Donovan Jackson at left guard. However, the situation remains unstable regarding the midfield and right guard. McLaughlin, a transfer from the University of Alabama, is sharing first-team reps in the middle with Hintzman, who was last season's starting center. But Hintzman also has experience in guard reps with Montgomery and Shavola, and started there in the spring game, giving that updated configuration a slight advantage for the time being.
defense line
starter: DE Jack Sawyer (Sr.), DT Ty Hamilton (rSr.), DT Tyrek Williams (Sr.), DE JT Tuimoloau (Sr.)
backup: DE Kayden Curry (Jr.), DT Herro Kanu (rSoph.), DT Tywon Malone (rJr.), DE Kenyatta Jackson (rSoph.)
There's no reason to think the Buckeyes won't have the same starting defensive line as last year. The intrigue here on the depth chart lies between the second and third teams. Mitchell Melton, who was sacked in the spring game, should push Curry and Jackson into snaps in the rotation behind Sawyer and Tuimoloau. Second-year tacklers Jason Moore and Kayden McDonald are also chasing behind Kanu and Manu.
linebacker
starter: Cody Simon (senior), CJ Hicks (junior)
backup: Gabe Powers (rSoph.), Sonny Styles (Junior)
With Styles switching from safety, the Buckeyes will have a tough competition for the weakside linebacker spot between him and Hicks. According to Pro Football Focus, Stiles has a lot of experience, having played 543 snaps on defense last fall. Hicks, by comparison, took 75 snaps. However, the majority of Stiles' snaps were on the back end, and he only began practicing as a linebacker in March. Hicks started the spring game and has a slight edge so far.
secondary
starter: CB Denzel Burke (Sr.), S Jordan Hancock (Sr.), (Jr.), S Caleb Downs (Soph.), S Lathan Ransom (Sr.), CB Davison Igbinosun (Jr.)
backup: CB Jermaine Matthews Jr. (Soph), S Lorenzo Stiles Jr. (rJr.), S Malik Hartford (Soph), S Jaden Bonds (rFr.), CB Calvin Simpson Hunt (rFr.). )
Without the young Stiles in the secondary, Hancock is the clear candidate to start at nickel. Similar to when Stiles was moved to replace Ransom as a strong safety late last season. Among the players who could fill in behind Hancock include Lorenzo Stiles Jr., the older brother of Sonny Stiles, who transferred from Notre Dame a year ago, but whose left-handed He missed the spring game while in a sling.
special teams
starter:K Jayden Fielding (junior), P Nick McLarty (France), LS John Ferman (r junior)
When spring practice began last month, the Buckeyes only had two options at punter to replace Jesse Mirko, who went to Vanderbilt. That was Joe McGuire, a redshirt freshman, and Hadi Jawad, another walk-on who transferred from Wayne State. But McLarty, who committed in March, could be the frontrunner to take over Punt when he enrolls this summer. McLarty, a former Australian rules footballer who stands 6ft 7in tall, has strong legs.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for the Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football 2024 depth chart predictions after spring practice.
