Ohio State Could Get Exposed in Saturday's Spring Game
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The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the most talented rosters for college football before training camp.
The Buckeyes offense should be improved from 2025 with quarterback Julian Sayin, running back Bo Jackson, and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith having another year of experience from the unit that scored just a total of 24 points in its last two games, losses to Indiana in the Big Ten championship and Miami in the College Football Playoff.
Still, the team has a pretty big question to answer about how the defense will respond after sending multiple first-round talents to the 2026 NFL Draft.
Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia signed a contract extension this offseason, and he has a lot of work ahead of him to develop this year's defense into a CFP contender.
Brad Crawford of CBS Sports suggested Saturday's spring game for Ohio State could be telling about what the defense will look like this fall. OSU will find out what replacements for Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles, and Caleb Downs will look like.
Crawford doesn't think the Buckeyes can perfectly replace those players, but he named a few players that could make a difference on defense in 2026.
"Payton Pierce is expected to assume one of the lead linebacker roles after playing behind the all-conference pair last fall, while Jaylen McClain could be a breakout performer at the back end in place of Downs," Crawford wrote.
"With Devin Sanchez and Jermaine Matthews Jr. likely being Ohio State's two starting corners, the Buckeyes are still having tryouts of sorts for nickel, and that position will be further examined during the final scrimmage."
Saturday's exhibition also allows other teams to see what kind of flaws Ohio State will have in the upcoming season. And that could be a problem for OSU, as they play one of the toughest schedules in college football, and will play Texas in Week 2.
The Buckeyes can't expect the defense to be what it was last season. To compete for the CFP, the offense will need to carry more than a fair share of the load. Since OSU has the country's best player (Smith), that shouldn't be an issue.
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