2015 Ohio State Spring Football Questions: Wide Receiver May Offer Wide Options

On March 10th, Ohio State began spring practice, and had fifteen spring football practices available before the conclusion of spring practice on April 18th in Ohio Stadium. Over the next few weeks, I will rank the top ten questions facing Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer and his coaching staff as the Buckeyes retake the football field after concluding the 2014 season as the national champions.

These articles will be submitted from areas of lowest concern to highest concern. While Ohio State returns the overwhelming majority of its 2014 team, and welcomes in a highly-touted recruiting class, it will be important for Coach Meyer to convey to his team that complacency within the player ranks could derail any hopes of the Buckeyes repeating as national champions in 2015.

Three practices in, with Ohio State resuming practice after spring break. After March 24th, Ohio State has twelve remaining practices, including the April 18th spring game, to evaluate where the football program stands before fall camp begins.

Up until this point in the series, my questions and focus has been upon emerging players at backup positions, a clear testament to Ohio State’s depth across the board. From here on out, these questions will focus upon position areas where Ohio State has lost a player(s) to graduation or eligibility, which is why I have ranked these position groups higher in terms of importance.

4. Wide Receiver

Key Players/Contributors Lost: Devin Smith (eligibility); Evan Spencer (eligibility)

Key Players/Contributors Returning: Noah Brown (Sophomore), Parris Campbell (Redshirt Freshman), James Clark (Redshirt Sophomore), Johnnie Dixon (Redshirt Freshman), Jeff Greene (Redshirt Senior), Jalin Marshall (Redshirt Sophomore), Terry McLaurin (Redshirt Freshman), Corey Smith (Redshirt Senior), Michael Thomas (Redshirt Junior), Dontre Wilson (Junior).

No more “clown show” at wide receiver. Once derided by Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer, the wide receiver position group established itself as a legitimate team strength during the 2014 national championship run.

Unfortunately for Coach Meyer, two of the best players from the wide receiver group, Devin Smith and Evan Spencer, have exhausted their eligibility. Besides leaving Ohio State with many dazzling highlight plays and the eternal gratitude of the Buckeye fan base, both Devin Smith and Evan Spencer had considerable playing experience over a four year period.

So you might be asking yourself, “Why is Minnich only ranking this fourth?!? Why isn’t this higher in terms of concerns?”.

Here is why…

Ohio State is losing Devin Smith and Evan Spencer, and both will be missed, but…Ohio State is loaded with talent at the wide receiver position. I am not even mentioning the players who will be arriving this summer from the 2015 recruiting class below.

Starter and leading receiver Michael Thomas returns. While I am including a link to a long touchdown play by Thomas at Michigan State in 2014, it bears repeating that Thomas has a history with possible quarterback starter Cardale Jones, dating back to their days at Fork Union Military Academy; Jones certainly looked for Thomas in the games versus Alabama and Oregon during the national championship run. Thomas is a dependable possession receiver, capable of breaking short passes into substantial gains after the catch.

The second leading receiver in 2014 was Jalin Marshall, who also returns. While listed as an H-B on Ohio State’s official roster, Marshall also emerged as a receiving threat, especially during the national championship run.

Want more? How about fellow H-B Dontre Wilson? Corey Smith, who was a superstar on special teams kick coverage, like Devin Smith? Even Jeff Greene, a walk-on, has previous experience from his days at Georgia Tech.

What about losing Devin Smith as a deep threat? Yes, that is a loss, but…Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, and Terry McLaurin are all reputed to have tremendous speed. One, or all, could conceivably fill that deep threat role this coming season.

What about losing Evan Spencer as a blocker? I am more concerned about this, but have tremendous confidence in players such as Noah Brown or Jeff Greene as blockers, and believe one, or both, will emerge in the eyes of the coaching staff this spring in this necessary role for the Ohio State rushing offense.

Losing Devin Smith and Evan Spencer will hurt, but the 2015 Ohio State Buckeyes may determine that the wide receiver position group is truly offering multiple players wide options to emerge this spring, and throughout the upcoming season.

2014 OSU Spring Football – Questions To Answer (Part 1)

“It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the spring who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.” ~ B.C. Forbes

I have no idea if Ohio State Head Coach Urban Meyer is an avid reader of Forbes magazine, but I feel comfortable in stating that Coach Meyer agrees with Mr. Forbes’ ideas about the importance of spring as it relates to results in the fall. Ohio State will kick off the first of fifteen spring practices on March 4th, with the last culminating in the spring football game on April 12th in Ohio Stadium.

While Ohio State returns several key players from last year’s squad that went 12-2 in 2013, Coach Meyer and his coaching staff will have to address and work upon position group areas before the 2014 season commences. Over a two part series, I have ranked the various position group areas, from least concerning to most concerning, as I perceive them.

It is entirely possible that this list may look entirely different when April 13th arrives. Feel free to comment below. Let us begin…

Honorable Mention: Senior QB Braxton Miller’s Continued Passing Improvement – Before this series was written, I ranked this as my #10 question heading into spring football practices. With the recent news of Miller’s offseason surgery, it led me to reassess this as a top priority. Miller will/should have limited work in the spring, to avoid further injury, while also allowing the backup quarterbacks (more on them in this series, I promise) more repetitions in game-like conditions. This concern could certainly warrant a higher ranking, heading into fall camp.

10. Special Teams Units – While ranked low, this unit is of extreme importance to the overall success of any team. Eliminating an opponent’s ability to return kickoffs and punts can often be a difference between winning and losing. With that criteria in mind, keep in mind that several of the incoming freshmen who are not yet on campus. The players I anticipate playing on special teams for Ohio State in 2014 are names from the highly-touted 2013 recruiting class – players such as Jayme Thompson, Darron Lee, Christopher Worley, Eli Apple, Cam Burrows, or Gareon Conley. Again, this list is highly subjective, as there are several freshmen who will look to make an impact when they arrive on campus, and could fluctuate greatly by the time the season begins.

9. Tight End – Senior Jeff Heuerman returns, with redshirt junior Nick Vannett also in the mix. Senior J.T. Moore returns, after a conversion from the defensive line. Moore’s role is primarily for blocking. The wild card of this group is redshirt freshman Marcus Baugh. Baugh was highly recruited, yet has received negative scrutiny for repeated off the field incidents. If Baugh stays out of trouble, will he do enough this spring to warrant playing time this coming season?

8. H-Back/Pivot/Hybrid/Slot – Notice how I used various terms, as I have read any and all of these during Coach Meyer’s tenure at Ohio State to describe this important offensive position; H-Back seems to be the nomenclature I have seen more frequently as of this writing. Regardless, players such as Dontre Wilson, Jalin Marshall, and newly-arrived Curtis Samuel would seem to fit the H-Back position well for Ohio State. Questions to work on this spring for H-Back would seem to be are there other players on the squad who may also be able to contribute in this manner? More importantly, can the H-Back position become more than a decoy, as Dontre Wilson was often relegated to during the 2013 season?

7. Running Back – Carlos Hyde is busy preparing for the upcoming NFL Draft, so returnees Warren Ball, Bri’onte Dunn, Rod Smith, and Ezekiel Elliott will all battle for the starting job. Elliott is the favorite going into spring practice, but all should give him a run for the position. Hybrids Dontre Wilson and Curtis Samuel will also be involved. Can Ohio State RB coach Stan Drayton keep everyone happy?

6. Wide Receiver – The buzzword for this position group is “competition”. Ohio State WR Coach Zach Smith has stated there are no starters, so I would speculate this is a group to keep an eye open for news this spring. Here are the players at Coach Smith’s disposal ~ James Clark, Evan Spencer, Jalin Marshall, Jeff Greene, Johnnie Dixon, Michael Thomas, Corey Smith, Devin Smith, and Frank Epitropoulos. Throw in hybrid Curtis Samuel into that mix. Plus incoming freshmen Noah Brown, Parris Campbell, and Terry McLaurin are not on campus yet. Yow. Can Coach Smith keep all these players happy and in the fold?

Part two will examine what I believe are the top five questions to focus upon as they relate to the 2014 Ohio State spring football practices.

Q&A With James Clark

OSU FootballToday we have a Question and Answer session conducted by freelance sports writer, Evan Massey. Evan sat down with Ohio State WR recruit James Clark (you can read our post about Clark’s commitment here) to chat about our favorite things: Buckeyes and football.

os-james-clark-new-smyrna-beach-photo-20130123Q. What made you choose to sign with Ohio State? Who were the other schools you primarily considered?

A. Ohio State gave me the opportunity to be successful over all. They are the 25th ranked business school, as well as being the only undefeated team in the country. I felt at home on campus and the best opportunity for me to make an impact was in Columbus.

Q. Do you have a player who plays in the NFL or college game that you model your game after?

A. Wow, I could choose a couple players I try to model, but I would say Victor Cruz and Mike Wallace. Love watching those guys play.

Q. What would you say your biggest challenge facing you heading into the 2013 season is?

A. I would say adapting. New environment, new path ahead of me. It’s just a matter of adapting and becoming familiar with the way things are done at Ohio State as quick as I can.

Q. What would you like to tell the fans that you are going to bring to the team this season?

A. A kid that’s going to go in and give his all for the Buckeyes every day.

Q. How excited are you to be a part of the intense rivalries of the Big Ten? Any games that you’re looking forward to the most?

A. I guess I’m supposed to answer that big time last game vs. Michigan haha, but honestly the first game is what I’m most excited about. It will be an awesome experience.

Q. Taking this to a different level for a question, what is your favorite food?

A. Haha wow, I’ll go with pizza.

Q. If you were speaking to a young football player with dreams of making it to the Division I level, what would you tell them to do?

A. Ask themselves how bad they really want to be a Division I athlete. Are they willing to make the sacrifices, commitment, and do the work necessary? I would tell them don’t let anyone tell them they were not capable of and remain dedicated, humble, and hungry no matter how good they get.

Q. Last question, what is your workout routine?

A. My workout is different everyday. Whether it’s speed work, conditioning, or in the weight room, it’s something to get better.

Thanks to James for taking the time to answer some questions!

Interview conducted by Evan Massey (@evan_massey)