Gleitman’s Goods: Buzz from second scrimmage of Ohio State training camp

Ohio State held its second scrimmage of training camp on Saturday in The Horseshoe, giving the 2024 Buckeyes an opportunity to compete in an environment as close to a real game as possible.

While the scrimmage was closed to the media, Lettermen Row has tapped into a few different sources close to the program to get some of the highlights and buzz coming from the second Ohio State scrimmage of camp.

Sayin and Brown competing for QB2 job

On Thursday, Ryan Day named Will Howard as the starting quarterback for Ohio State this season . I’m told Howard had a “solid” day—-not his best of camp but still solid—-starting a little slow but getting better as the day went on. I’m told he made some really nice throws into tight windows against BIA later in the scrimmage session.

The real story and focus surrounded Devin Brown , current QB2 for Ohio State, and freshman Julian Sayin , who is trying to win the QB2 job over the third year veteran .

I’m told both Brown and Sayin performed well on Saturday as they rotated in with the second team. Sources say they maybe give a slight edge to Sayin when judging the two against each other on the day, but were pleased with the performance of both.

For Brown, he looked better in the short to intermediate passing game. He went through his progressions well and didn’t force it downfield like maybe has been the case too much in the past.

As for Sayin, the “ball just comes off his hands differently than anyone else they have”, one source said. He threw a nice long touchdown pass to Jelani Thurman as a highlight on the day.

For now, it looks like the QB2 job remains a close competition, but Brown’s experience still providing the leg up.

Update on offensive skill players

At running back, Quinshon Judkins did not participate and just did work on the side in what I’m told is nothing serious, “just load management and minor dings”. I’d expect Judkins back in action at practice this week.

In his absence, I’m told TreVeyon Henderson looked really good and ran hard, especially between the tackles. The word “explosive” was used to describe Henderson in regard to how he looked on Saturday.

The bigger story to me was freshman James Peoples , who I’m told had a really nice day and continues to emerge as the clear cut RB3 for Ohio State, who should see some meaningful snaps this year, which likely sets him up to be RB1 in 2025.

I should also add it seems like the running backs may be involved more in the passing game than what we’re used to, something Spencer, Andy, and the LR team have mentioned throughout camp.

At wide receiver the two players mentioned the most by sources were Brandon Inniss and Jeremiah Smith .

With Inniss, he just continues to get praise for his play every time I speak to someone. I was told he had a touchdown in working with the twos but is absolutely a part of the core rotation for this Ohio State receiving corps, and can be a breakthrough guy for the offense.

As for Smith, one source said “Marv was incredible but this is the best true freshman receiver I’ve ever seen.” Highlight for Smith included a ridiculous one-handed catch. I’m told we should look for Smith to be used in a variety of ways in this offense and that his speed and athleticism are off the charts—Smith has been dominating offseason workouts since he arrived on campus in January, I’m told. Having gone through the Ohio State strength and conditioning program has only enhanced his physical abilities.

Kojo Antwi was also mentioned as having a strong day. It seems the light has come on for Antwi in year three, as the Ohio State staff gave him a lot of praise this past week as well.

The guy who was considered, at least one person, the standout on offense today to one source was Jelani Thurman . I’m told he looked good as a blocker in the scrimmage and also caught the aforementioned TD from Sayin. I heard Thurman also beat a defender by 10 yards for what would’ve been another TD but he dropped it. Good to see, though, that maybe 15 is turning a corner here midway through camp.

Offensive line picture becoming more clear

Notable absence on the o-line for Ohio State was Donovan Jackson , who was working on the side for the duration of practice while in full pads. I know there are apparently rumors about said injury out there, which we will look into, but the context I got didn’t make it seem like anything serious.

Austin Siereveld , who has been working a bit at tackle in camp, slid in at left guard in his place and I am told the second year prospect had a really nice today. Siereveld continues to look like a strong option to start down the road.

At right guard it was Tegra Tshabola running with the ones and it looks like big Tegra has the leg up at the position. Carson Hinzman spent a lot of time with the second unit at center, while Luke Montgomery lined up next to him as the backup right guard. Interesting to see how they move Hinzman and Montgomery around but it seems clear that Tshabola is emerging as the favorite to start at right guard.

Side note but I’m told sources really liked what they saw from Ohio State freshman lineman Gabe VanSickle today. Won’t make an impact this year, but the thought is he’s “biting as a pup a bit”.

Overall seemed like a solid day for the offensive line from what I’m hearing, despite how well the defense played (see below), but they’re definitely being ridden hard by the entire coaching staff to get more physical and fight for every inch in those trenches, which will be music to everyone’s ears.

Domination by the defense

I am told the defensive really had a dominant performance in the scrimmage after the offense got the best of them last Saturday in the first scrimmage of Ohio State camp.

The standout on the defensive line per sources was Kenyatta Jackson . Had a good day and made a number of big plays, including an interception. Jack Sawyer was also mentioned as a guy consistently in the backfield making plays.

Sonny Styles and CJ Hicks rotated in with the ones at WILL and both looked solid. Seems there’s a plan to use both guys there. Arvell Reese got a ton of run with the ones at MIKE, and as one source said to me “I don’t see a world where they can keep him off the field”. It looks like those three, plus Cody Simon , who is a captain and the Block O jersey recipient , will be the main four to play at linebacker for Ohio State.

Finally, I’m told the secondary is living up to the hype. Denzel Burke had a pick. Davison Igbinosun made a number of big plays. Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom are “lockdown city back there”, per one source. And on and on was the praise for the secondary.

One note on BIA, lots of praise for the way freshman Aaron Scott is coming along during camp. Some players mentioned him recently as a standout, and he backed that up with his play on Saturday.

Overall the defense got a ton of praise. One source who has been around many Ohio State teams and great versions Silver Bullets said “this is the best defense I’ve ever seen in person”. We’ll see if they can translate that to the real games.

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