Questions abound as Buckeyes open camp
Ohio State opened training camp Thursday morning eager to bury memories of the last time the team played a game.
That was New Year's Eve in Arizona, where the Buckeyes were humiliated by Clemson 31-0 in the College Football Playoff. The significant flaws in the Buckeyes' passing game and offensive play-calling were laid bare before 20 million people who were watching on TV before welcoming in 2017.
Questions will linger in camp about the quality of the aerial attack, whether the offensive line can protect quarterback J.T. Barrett, and whether Barrett can return to form under a new offensive coordinator and complete deep passes to mostly untested wide receivers.
Offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, most recently the head coach at Indiana, has put new emphasis on the deep passing game and accuracy, charting every pass thrown during spring practice.
“There is constant conversation of things I like on the field, things I'm comfortable with, and then also, too, things that he likes,” Barrett said after practice Thursday. “And it's just better going to help us attack the game plan, so that conversation is going to continue through our camp.”
Parris Campbell, the most seasoned of the crop of mostly untested receivers, is expected to slide into the hybrid H-back position that made a star out of Curtis Samuel last season. Terry McLaurin, Binjimen Victor, K.J. Hill, Austin Mack and Johnnie Dixon all will try to emerge as the deep threat the Buckeyes have been sorely missing.
The defense is loaded, with an embarrassment of riches on the line, an elite set of linebackers and a couple of terrific true freshmen who will help fill the holes left by the three starting members of last year's secondary who left for the NFL.
“We've got so much talent. Coach Meyer always says, we're not going to swing and miss this year,” defensive end Sam Hubbard said. “We'd be ashamed to not give it our best shot. We really haven't even talked about last year. We're really focused on what we have this year and what we can accomplish.”
Lamar Jackson remains a huge threat at quarterback, but whether he joins Archie Griffin as a repeat Heisman Trophy winner depends on the targets and protection Louisville and coach Bobby Petrino give him. Petrino certainly plans to use each day of fall camp to fill those and many other openings.
The Cardinals have some days off before conducting their first practice Monday, which comes a little earlier than usual following the elimination of twice-daily workouts. While that means a longer grind before the season opens, Petrino sees an opportunity to take thorough looks at his personnel.
“We'll go about the first seven days and install everything, and then we'll come back and repeat it,” Petrino said. “That's where we want to see some guys make strides in understanding and competing for the starting job or the backup job. I always tell the players that it's up to them to show teammates who the starter is.”
While the 6-foot-3, 211-pound Jackson adjusts to working more under center this season, Petrino must replace several key receivers and develop backfield depth around him. Most important is rebuilding an offensive line that returns only Geron Christian and Lukayus McNeil from a unit that allowed 46 sacks last season.
Petrino sounded hopeful that the list of O-line candidates he ran off can protect Jackson and the ball carriers. Blocking is no small matter as Jackson's record-setting season (3,543 yards passing and 30 touchdowns, 1,571 rushing with 21 TDs) ended with three straight losses, sacks and turnovers.
Kendall Hinton is finally healthy again, back as Wake Forest's starting quarterback — and not as likely to take as many unnecessary chances on the field.
A knee injury kept him out of the final 10 games last season, and now that he's at 100 percent, he says the Demon Deacons' injuryplagued quarterbacks have to do more this year to keep themselves upright.
That's been a problem over the past few seasons, when both Hinton and John Wolford were beaten up. And while it's impossible to consciously avoid every potential injury, he says there are some things the QBs can do to help themselves.
“Some things just happen, some things you can't control,” Hinton said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But taking care of our bodies off the field could be a big component of (staying healthy) as well as playing it safer on the field, and not taking as many big hits and just being smarter.”
Hinton and the rest of the Demon Deacons begin preseason practice today, the first of North Carolina's Atlantic Coast Conference schools to do so.