Who leads Ohio State football’s quarterback competition halfway through spring? Buckeye Bits – cleveland.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State football coach Ryan Day insists, halfway through spring camp, that no separation exists in his three-way quarterback battle.

So read what you will into the rotation reporters witnessed at last Friday and Monday’s practices. C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord lined up in that order for stretching and calisthenics, and they cycled through their handoff and passing drills in the same order.

Day said that rotation has varied and will do so in the future. He said Monday he wished he had 18 months to prepare that trio for opening day. Yet he had only six when spring practice began, and when it ends he’ll be down to five.

“I think they they’ve done a decent job of learning each day, so I think that’s been a positive,” Day said. “I think their lack of reps — it’s hard. They need so many reps of everything. And the good news is they’re very eager to learn. They’re taking good notes. They are all getting better in their own way.”

Stroud appeared to end last season with the backup edge, having filled in for Justin Fields in emergency duty twice — including in the playoff semifinal against Clemson. So even if all three opened with an equal one-third opportunity to win the job, they may not have opened the spring tied for first.

Tuesday’s episode of Buckeye Talk centered on whether we believe our ears or our eyes more as it pertains to the quarterback competition and other spring storylines. Stroud has looked comfortable and poised in our two glimpses of practice. Yet all three quarterbacks have made good and bad throws. Whether or not each has an even one-third share of the lead, the opportunity to compete and prove the outcome on the field seems genuine.

What else did we see Monday?

Craig Young, a linebacker by established identity, lined up at safety in multiple drills. The Bullet conversation continues to pick up momentum this spring. “That’s exciting for us because he can cover, he can play in the box, he can be physical, he can blitz,” Day said. Day mentioned three others players who are listed as safeties — Ronnie Hickman, Kourt Williams and walk-on Ryan Batsch — in the same role as Young. … Among the reasons Day is enthused about the defensive tackles is an impressive offseason for Taron Vincent. Held back by injuries this far in his career, Vincent has been the most improved player in that group, per Day. He credited Vincent’s dedication to Mickey Marotti’s offseason program. “Once that happened, now his games taken off, and I’m excited to see where it heads into fall,” Day said. … The Buckeyes played a lot of nickel in the periods open to reporters. Day said OSU will still use two to four linebackers based on matchups. …

Asked for his biggest concern halfway through spring, Day said it was the lack of playing time for the youngest Buckeyes. “Those are the things that we’ve just got to continue to try to put them in game situations and get more reps.” … Speaking of which, freshman receivers Emeka Egbuka, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jayden Ballard were lined up together for one drill. “The more we can put them in live situations, the better.” … Day said Ohio State will hold another scrimmage-like practice on Saturday. OSU was not in pads Monday. Day said they are spacing the padded practices and trying to make them “really physical and really clean.”

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