Chris Fields, Tyvis Powell, Chase Farris, Christian Bryant, Marcus Hall, Cardale Jones and Doran Grant are among the Cleveland-area Buckeyes who should see a lot of time Saturday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State's spring game is all about Cincinnati. But the Buckeyes' roster is still all about Northeast Ohio.
Because of renovations at Ohio Stadium, Ohio State's spring practice will end with a detour and a 1 p.m. kickoff for the spring game at Paul Brown Stadium on Saturday. Urban Meyer played college football at the University of Cincinnati, and cornercbacks coach Kerry Coombs was a long-time coach at Colerain High School in the Cincinnati area and came to the Buckeyes after coaching with the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Ohio State's recruiting in Southwest Ohio has improved, for sure, because of those connections, and this foray isn't a coincidence. Meyer said it was Athletic Director Gene Smith's idea, and the Buckeyes were in Cleveland more recently, beating Toledo at Browns Stadium in 2009.
But when the Buckeyes trotted out the Cincinnati guys for interviews this week, the only scholarship players who fit the bill were starting defensive lineman Adolphus Washington and starting offensive lineman Andrew Norwell.
The Cleveland area would have offered a few more options.
Fifteen Buckeyes from Northeast Ohio are among the 64 scholarship players on the roster for this spring, with another 18 freshmen arriving this summer. They range from the old (fifth-year senior Chris Fields of Harvey) to the young (early enrolled freshman defensive lineman Tracy Sprinkle of Elyria), from the wounded (backup offensive lineman Antonio Underwood of Shaker Heights is out after surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament, though Meyer said he was having a good spring before he went down) to the rising (third-string quarterback Cardale Jones is Glenville has finally shown the coaches this spring that he can play.)
Senior safety Christian Bryant of Glenville could wind up as a captain, sophomore right tackle Chase Farris of Elyria could wind up as a starter and Bedford's Tyvis Powell could wind up as the No. 1 surprise of the spring while fighting to start at nickelback.
Here are the Northeast Ohio players to watch Saturday as the Buckeye, listed with their numbers so you can find them.
No. 80 Chris Fields, fifth-year senior receiver: The competition to play in in the slot, the game-changing position in the offense, will be intense in the fall. Fifth-year senior Jordan Hall and incoming freshmen Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson all fit there. But the freshmen aren't here yet and Hall has been out with a hamstring injury, so Fields has been the top guy in the slot and has taken advantage.
“I've been having a great spring this year,” Fields said. “Last year I didn't have a good first impression with Coach Meyer came her and that led to being with the twos in camp, and I just faded away. Playing catch-up in this system is really hard, so you've got to stay on top of it, and I've been getting good looks with the ones and staying with it.”
Meyer and the coaches agree that Fields is having a good spring, and with his ability to play some other receiver positions, and considering the Buckeyes want three receivers on the field at all times, and often want four, he could get more playing time. After all, this is the guy that made the sliding, tying touchdown catch with three seconds left against Purdue that saved the 2012 undefeated season.
“It gave me a lot of confidence,” Fields said. “I go out there and think to myself that I deserve to be out there. I've been out there this long and I've been working this hard, and when I get a chance, I'm grabbing it.”
No. 57 Chase Farris, redshirt sophomore right tackle: Farris is locked in what may be the most interesting position battle on the team, fighting sophomore Taylor Decker and surprise candidate Pat Elflein, a redshirt freshman, for the fifth starting job on the offense line.
Four seniors man the other four spots, but at the moment, Meyer called the open right tackle job “real bothersome.” No one has seized the job. At 6-foot-7, Decker is more of a prototypical tackle, but the 6-4, 300-pound Farris is the better natural athlete.
Both need to play with more confidence and nastiness. But Farris is still making some adjustments after starting his career at Ohio State as a defensive lineman.
“He's coming around,” Meyer said. “But the offensive line is the one position of all the positions on the team that take the most time to saturate a guy. He's got all the skills, he's a wonderful young man, he's just a little bit behind where we thought he would be.”
Meyer said the spring is for setting the depth chart, and practice in August is for getting ready to win, so that right tackle job could be won by somebody on Saturday.
No. 23 Tyvis Powell, redshirt freshman defensive back: A surprise starter on the first day of spring ball at nickelback, after sitting out last year as a redshirt because he wasn't ready to play, Powell has continued a strong bid to keep that starting job in the fall. Powell said the coaches want him to take over the role that the graduated Orhian Johnson, an off-and-on starter and regular nickelback his whole career, used to fill.
“They've been coaching me real hard,” Powell said. “It's to the point where it almost feels easy for me, it's almost getting easy. The game is slowing down and I'm able to make more plays.”
Powell laughed through those words, knowing it'll never really be easy. The competition at nickelback will increase in August, from incoming major recruit Vonn Bell and from another Northeast Ohioan in Glenville's No. 30 Devan Bogard, who impressed Meyer while playing as a freshman. He blew out his ACL last year and is out this spring, but he said he's on track to compete and play in August.
But what Powell has done has been noticed, on and off the field.
“Academically he's doing really well,” Meyer said. “that young man is a better young man that he was a year ago as far as handling his business and growing up. I don't want to say he shocked me, but I'm very glad he's a Buckeye.”
No. 12 Cardale Jones, redshirt freshman quarterback: Meyer said the Buckeyes will throw a lot on Saturday. While starting quarterback Braxton Miller and backup Kenny Guiton will be protected by black no-contact jerseys, Jones will be completely live and allowed to show what he can do.
He showed it already during a team scrimmage that built Meyer's confidence in the former Glenville quarterback, who is now in his second spring as a Buckeye.
“He showed that he can play quarterback at Ohio State,” Meyer said. “Up to this point, I had not seen that other than he threw the ball nice every once in a while. But he showed the energy you need to play quarterback.”
No. 2 Christian Bryant, senior safety, and No. 79 Marcus Hall, fifth-year senior right guard: The two returning starters from Glenville are foundational pieces of the two most veteran parts of the team: the secondary and the offensive line.
Keep an eye Saturday on how Hall and his fellow seniors hold up against the younger defensive line.
No. 12 Doran Grant, junior cornerback: The St. Vincent-St. Mary grad is stepping into a starting role after the graduation of a Travis Howard. His sophomore season as the No. 3 corner wasn't what he hoped it would be, and he lost some playing time because he wasn't ready. But on a defense that lost seven starters, Meyer as mentioned him as one of the guys he's seen rise to the level the Buckeyes need from their new starters.
No. 72 Chris Carter, redshirt sophomore defensive lineman: After moving to defense last spring, the John F. Kennedy High grad has flashed on some plays as backup nose guard, where Joel Hale and Tommy Schutt top the depth chart. At 340 pounds, he could be a goalline space eater, as long as he watches his weight.
“We've got a weight limit on him,” Meyer said. “He's at 340 and if he goes over that, he can't play at Ohio State. It's not safe. He's done a nice job with that, but he's just got to play a little better.”
Others to watch: There are several backup offensive line who will see serious time Saturday. No. 76 Darryl Baldwin, a redshirt junior from Solon, is the No. 2 left tackle, No. 55 Tommy Brown, a redshirt sophomore from Firestone, has been the backup right guard, and redshirt freshman No. 66 Kyle Dodson of Cleveland Heights has backed up at both tackle spots. And No. 73 Antonio Underwood would be out there if he hadn't just had successful surgery. Redshirt freshman No. 89 Blake Thomas, from St. Ignatius, is getting his first big look after sitting out last season, and he's the third tight end behind Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett, but Vannett might sit out with an injury, so Thomas should play a lot. And No. 93 Tracy Sprinkle, a defensive end who should still be at Elyria High, has made the most of his decision to enroll early and has looked like he belongs on the defensive line.
