Ohio State Spring Game 2024: 5 storylines to watch for during annual practice event

With the 2024 spring game, Ohio State football enters a new era. After coming up short against Michigan again, Ryan Day bit the bullet and brought in Chip Kelly to run his offense.

There are several other staff moves, and Ohio State has been incredibly aggressive in the transfer portal. Given the desire to get over the Michigan hump, it would have been an interesting spring anyway.

However, with a ton of new faces and a new offensive boss in town, the OSU spring game is a must-see event. The game will be televised by Fox on Saturday, Apr. 13 at noon EST. Here are five stories to watch in the Ohio State spring game.

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What to watch for in Ohio State spring game 2024?

#1 Chip Kelly's impact

Former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly

After having a supersonic offense with CJ Stroud, Ohio State took a massive step back in offensive power in 2023. Kyle McCord was no Stroud. Ohio State finished 45th in the nation in scoring offense and 48th in total offense. Enter Kelly, who had been a lackluster 35-34 as UCLA's coach.

However, the former NFL coach is a great offensive mind. His impact on the OSU offense should be immediate and fairly profound. Of course, the spring game is the first public airing of the new offense. Kelly will probably hold back some wrinkles, but he'd be only human for wanting to impress the OSU partisans a bit too.

#2 Who's the QB?

Ohio State nabbed Kansas State QB Will Howard as the likely starter for this season, but Day, Kelly and the OSU braintrust won't just hand him the job. Returnees Devin Brown and Lincoln Keinholz will see their fair share of snaps. Alabama transfer Julian Sayin is something of a wildcard too.

While Howard (5,786 yards and 48 TDs) is the odds-on favorite to lock down the job, the competition is interesting. Given the possibility of injury and Howard's one-year limit at OSU, seeing who grabs the backup job could be a meaningful clue as to 2025 and beyond. The QBs certainly bear watching.

#3 The very full house backfield

Ohio State returned one of the top rushers in college football in TreVeyon Henderson (2,745 yards and 32 TDs at OSU). Then they added Ole Miss transfer Quinshon Judkins (2,725 yards and 31 TDs). So Ohio State has a pair of proven 1,000 yard SEC rushers.

It's not like the cupboard is bare behind them. Dallan Hayden has indicated an intention to place his name in the transfer portal, but he's a talented back. Seeing who will be RB1 and who will be RB2 is interesting, and the split of spring game rushing attempts might be more important.

#4 How much will Jeremiah Smith play?

Ohio State hasn't been shy about starting young receivers. The Buckeyes have also had buckets of talent at the position, but few can be mentioned with true frosh Jeremiah Smith. The top player in the entire nation per 247sports, Smith is big (six-foot-three), fast and skilled.

It's not whether Smith will play as a freshman because he certainly will. It's a question of what his role will be and how significant he'll be in the OSU offense. A starting role is certainly not outside the realm of possibility. His first public action for the Buckeyes in the spring game could be fascinating viewing.

#5 Can Downs help the secondary?

Ohio State's defense has been one of the most frustrating components of the last two seasons. Coordinator Jim Knowles has improved the overall production-- except in the biggest games. Ohio State looks dominant for most of its schedule but has folded like a cheap taco in the biggest games.

One answer is in the secondary, and Alabama transfer Caleb Downs might be the answer. Downs was Alabama's leading tackler last season with 107 stops. To say that he has a nose for the football would be an understatement. Can one player be the difference for OSU? If anybody can, Downs might be that guy.

Will the influx of maybe the best transfer portal class ever get Ohio State back into the College Football Playoff? Can Ryan Day survive much longer in Columbus if it fails?