Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes evaluating options at kick returner

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has seen an improvement in some aspects of its special teams, but it hasn’t been perfect in the first year of a new special teams operation.

Wide receiver Jayden Ballard had two special teams errors Saturday night, one of which was a muffed punt that he jumped back on for a recovery. The other, though, was much more costly. He called for a fair catch on a kickoff that was in play, but he didn’t catch the kick, instead fielding it at the 4-yard line. That forced the Buckeyes to begin the first drive of the second half with 96 yards to the end zone.

With those errors in mind and an ‘Improvement Week’ underway, the Buckeyes are looking to either see improvement from Ballard or find a better answer at kick returner.

“We think that Jayden Ballard had a really good offseason,” Day said. “He was recognized as a gold individual during the off season, which is significant in our program. So we’ve given him the opportunity to return kicks and a couple of punts here. But the number one thing is taking care of the football. So that has to happen.

“We believe in who Jayden is, but at the end of the day, we have to take care of the football. So we are going to evaluate it during this week and make sure that we’re doing the right thing.”

ICYMI: Buckeyes national title odds have shifted since season starter

Ohio State has always been one of the two favorites to win the national title in January since the beginning of the offseason. The Buckeyes odds have shifted, though, since the season actually began.

No, Ohio State isn’t the favorite to win the title. That’s Georgia (+270). But the Buckeyes have the second-best odds to win it all, checking in at +350. Texas (+550) has the third-best odds after a big win over Michigan on the road this past weekend.

After the Longhorns, there’s quite a large drop off. Alabama and Oregon (+1100) and Ole Miss (+1500) are in the next tier down below those top three of Texas, Ohio State and Georgia.

The Buckeyes have won their first two games by a combined score of 108-6, but those games have come against MAC programs.

The schedule doesn’t get much tougher; Ohio State faces Marshall next week before opening Big Ten play on the road at Michigan State on Sept. 28.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Marshall: 9 days
Ohio State at Oregon: 30 days
Ohio State at Penn State: 51 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 79 days

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The post Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes evaluating options at kick returner appeared first on On3 .