The band returned for the spring game along with Ohio State’s cheerleaders, Brutus the Buckeye and close to 19,000 fans, who were required to sit in socially-distanced pods and wear masks unless they were eating or drinking. Last season, Ohio State played in front of only family members early in the season and then no fans at all late in the season as the pandemic worsened.
“It was great to get out there and get in the stadium and play,” Day said, “but I think the most exciting part was getting back in the stadium and seeing the Best Damn Band in the Land and having some fans around. It felt almost normal out there today.”
Five years ago, Ohio State set a spring game attendance record with 100,189 fans. A much smaller crowd watched this game while abiding by the COVID-19 protocols everyone has lived with for the past year. In most ways, though, it was a typical spring game. All eyes were on the quarterback competition that will dominate discussion until Day names a starter. He wasn’t ready to do that after the spring game.
When asked about the performance of the three contenders for the job — redshirt freshmen C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller III and freshman Kyle McCord — Day said he saw some good things and some bad. It was similar in practices all spring.
“There were a lot of good learning opportunities there,” Day said. “We tried to get a little bit of a two-minute (drill) going at the end of the half, some red zone stuff. You can see there are flashes here and there. The more these guys can prepare and work in the film room and just grind in the meeting rooms, the better they’re going to prepare and be ready for those moments. They’ve learned a lot. But now the race is on over the next few months to figure out who can make the next stride so that they’re further along. Spring has been good. There’s been a lot of progress made across the board but still a long way to go before we play against Minnesota.”
Twenty percent full is much better than zero percent. pic.twitter.com/BvuwJDbo3Z
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) April 17, 2021
Ohio State opens the 2021 season on the road against the Gophers on Sept. 2 and plays Oregon nine days later in its home opener. Whoever wins the quarterback job will replace Justin Fields, who’s expected to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft on April 29.
The three top candidates all had their moments in the spring game.
• Miller III completed 17 of 30 passes for 128 yards with one interception.
• Stroud completed 16 of 22 passes for 185 yards. He threw a pair of 5-yard touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Chris Olave in the first half.
• McCord completed 12 of 17 passes for 188 yards. He threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the second quarter and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Joe Royer in the fourth quarter.
“I feel very comfortable with all of them,” left tackle Thayer Munford said. “I believe whoever is going to be behind us in the fall is going to be tremendous.”
NOTES: Team Brutus, coached by defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, beat Team Buckeye, led by offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, 28-13.
• Freshman Emeka Egbuka led the receivers with seven catches for 123 yards.
• The leading rusher was freshman Treveyon Henderson, who had six carries carries for 26 yards. He also caught five passes for 29 yards.
• Freshman defensive end Jack Sawyer led the defense with three sacks.
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