There’s only a month to go until the first kickoff of Ohio State’s 2025 season, and fall practices begin on Thursday for the Buckeyes.
After winning a national championship and sending so many veterans to the NFL, there are many different questions about the lineup going into fall camp, and many of them will be answered in the next 31 days.
Here are the five biggest questions Buckeye Sports Bulletin has going into fall camp.
1. How long does the quarterback battle last?
Whoever ends up starting for the Buckeyes, it will be their fourth different quarterback leading the team in the last four years. It’s been a reported battle for the spot the last three of those years. But this year’s battle is different for one big reason. Game one this year is against one of the early national championship favorites, Texas. Last year, it was Akron. In 2023, it was Indiana. This time, there isn’t time to waste by allowing two quarterbacks to split reps for most of fall camp.
Ryan Day has already said he wants to make this decision sooner than he has in the past, and possibly the only reason he hasn’t yet is because Lincoln Kienholz stepped up in the spring and competed with Julian Sayin more than he was expected to. Most seem to be expecting Sayin to win the job, and that can be backed up by some of the comments coming from sophomore wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.
“That arm is different,” Smith told The Athletic earlier this month. “He can make any and every throw. Just a smart quarterback. Like me, he’s a little quiet. But he’s starting to come out of (his) shell. He’s definitely going to be a guy. It’s going to be scary for opponents.”
Day didn’t go get Sayin out of the portal after Nick Saban retired to have him watch a game like this from the bench, but if Kienholz is truly the better quarterback by Aug. 30 then Ohio State will do what it needs to win the game.
But how realistic is it that Kienholz could get to that point? How much does Sayin or Kienholz have to do to separate themselves and win the job? And how soon will Day pull the trigger and name a starter?
2. Which defensive tackles down the depth chart step up?
While it hasn’t been revealed, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that Kayden McDonald and Eddrick Houston will be the starters on the interior defensive line. They are the two with the most experience, and looked good when they were in games last season.
But past those two, there are question marks when it comes to the depth at the position. It’s always been important for linemen to stay fresh down the stretch of a season, but with the season going even longer with the 12-team playoff, depth is necessary.
At this point, Will Smith Jr. seems like one of the more likely options to step into an important role, but Tywone Malone and Jason Moore could also play their way into a spot this fall. The 2025 recruiting class brought in many different defensive tackles, but in the spring it was Jarquez Carter who stood out above the rest of his fellow freshmen, and he could get some time.
3. What does the defensive end rotation look like?
Right now, it seems like two of Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Caden Curry and Beau Atkinson will earn the starting spots on the edges, and given the praise that Jackson received from both teammates and Day at Big Ten media days, seeing him on the field when Arch Manning takes his first snap on Aug. 30 would be no surprise.
Atkinson has already produced at a high level at North Carolina, so that could give him the edge when it comes to the other side of the line, but Curry has long been thought to be next in line behind Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau, and for good reason. Curry played in all 16 games last year and accumulated 22 tackles (four for loss) and had 2.5 sacks, proving he could be effective rushing the passer.
Then there’s still C.J. Hicks and Logan George to think about, both of whom have some question marks for different reasons. George has been great so far in his college care the FCS level. Will he be able to translate that to the highest level of football? In the spring, defensive line coach Larry Johnson was very pleased with how George was playing.
Hicks is making the switch from linebacker, but has been one of the better pass rushers on the team for a couple years now, at least according to linebackers coach James Laurinaitis. Will he also be able to help stop the run, or could he be used as a third-down pass rush specialist this season?
There doesn’t seem to be any reason to worry about the depth at defensive end.
4. Who wins the starting safety spot?
Caleb Downs is locked into his starting spot at free safety about as much as anyone in the country could hope to be. But there is a competition at strong safety between sophomore Jaylen McClain and junior Malik Hartford.
Neither seemed to jump ahead of the other on the depth chart in the spring, but one of them had to be on the field for the start of the spring game, and it was Hartford who earned the start that day. But that’s not to say that McClain still isn’t a strong candidate for the spot.
Most of Hartford’s experience with the Buckeyes when he got on the field was at free safety, or what Jim Knowles called the adjuster position. McClain was on the field more than Hartford last year at the strong safety position, so he has slightly more in-game experience at the spot. Either way, the Buckeyes should be just fine in the secondary.
5. Will Devin Sanchez force his way into the conversation to start?
The Buckeyes are looking very good at cornerback, and with Davison Igbinosun and Jermaine Mathews Jr. very likely starting on the outside, it would be very hard for Devin Sanchez to push one of those two very talented players out of those positions.
If Sanchez is too good to be kept off the field, there is a world in which either he or Mathews could slide to the nickel position. Mathews already has some experience there with Ohio State, and Tim Walton said in the spring that Mathews would be working at the position some so he could be ready for any assignment in Matt Patricia’s defense.
Sanchez received heaps of praise during spring football from both his coaches and his fellow players, and it’s fair to wonder whether he will just be too good to justify keeping him on the bench.
Sanchez will be the top freshman to follow during fall camp to see how much playing time he can relistically play himself into, especially early in the season.
