Ohio State Football: What to Watch for in Buckeyes' Spring Game

COLUMBUS, Ohio — With its spring game a mere five days away, Ohio State finds itself nearing the finish line of this year's spring practice session.

And to this point, this spring in Columbus has been met with a different tone for the Buckeyes than the one they experienced a year ago.

Gone are what could be as many as seven first-rounders in the upcoming NFL draft, as well as an unprecedented quarterback controversy that dominated the headlines of the college football world as early as last spring. While there are still some familiar faces around in Urban Meyer's program, this offseason has largely been a "getting to know you" period at Ohio State's Woody Hayes Athletic Center, with so many unknown names attempting to make a splash this spring.

The result will be a spring game nearly impossible to predict, with 16 combined starting spots on offense and defense still up for grabs in the Buckeyes lineup.

Factor in a litany of injuries and Meyer's precaution while using the few experienced players who are still around, and forecasting this weekend's exhibition only becomes more difficult. Still, there have been some Ohio State players who have managed to stand out this spring, helping make it somewhat clearer what one can expect from the Buckeyes' upcoming spring game.

A Better Barrett

For all the former Ohio State players who now find themselves preparing for the pros, perhaps the most important Buckeye from last year's team is still a member of the OSU roster.

Watching the Buckeyes practice, it's hard to miss J.T. Barrett in his black no-contact jersey amidst a sea of predominately unknown faces. But while having the Ohio State signal-caller back is certainly a luxury for Meyer's team, even Barrett would admit it's been difficult dealing with so many inexperienced teammates in an injury-riddled receiving corps.

"The main thing is control what you can control," Barrett said. "That's something that [quarterbacks] Coach [Tim] Beck helps us out with. We know we got young guys in and young receivers and all this. Those are, I guess, excuses that you want to make for yourself, but that's not the point of it. The point of it is trying to get better as a quarterback."

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

The redshirt junior quarterback maintains he's done just that, insisting he's already improved both his arm strength and throwing mechanics throughout this offseason. That should make the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Quarterback of the Year even more dangerous, as accuracy has never been an issue with his play.

"There were some throws where you would see it die," Barrett said of the first two seasons of his college career. "Just driving the ball and having the arm strength to finish through things, that's something that I work on."

Factoring the timing of routes into all that hasn't always been easy, at least not with first- and second-year wideouts serving as Barrett's primary targets this spring. But Barrett has already helped make a breakout star out of early-enrollee Austin Mack, who became the first Buckeye freshman to have the black stripe from his helmet removed this offseason, signaling he's officially a member of the OSU roster.

The connection between Barrett and Mack will be worth keeping an eye on this Saturday, but more important will be the alleged improvement the Buckeyes quarterback claims to have made. It may not always look pretty with what's around him, but look for Barrett to showcase a new-and-improved deep ball down the field throughout Saturday's spring game.

Patchwork Problems

It's not just the players Barrett has been throwing to this spring who have been unfamiliar.

The Buckeyes—who are supposed to be—blocking for the OSU signal-caller have largely lacked experience as well.

Even with center Pat Elflein and guard Billy Price each returning to Columbus for their third seasons as starters, the Buckeyes offensive line has lacked continuity throughout the better part of spring practice. As he did last offseason, Meyer has routinely rested players who have already proven themselves to the Buckeyes program, meaning Barrett has often found himself with five new offensive linemen protecting him this spring.

And against Ohio State's talented defensive line, that hasn't always made for very comfortable practices and scrimmages for Barrett or fellow quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Stephen Collier.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

"A lot of times the quarterback gets hammered because the right guard misses a block and you throw a pick," Meyer said when asked about Burrow's progress this spring.

Speaking of that right guard position, Meyer has been willing to exhaust all options, even playing early enrollee Michael Jordan with the first-team unit. While the fifth-year Ohio State head coach has admitted it's not often ideal to play a true freshman on the offensive line, the Buckeyes' current situation may necessitate just that.

"He doesn't know if it's right or left sometimes, but at this point we don't care," Meyer said. "I'm really impressed with him."

Keep an eye on not just Jordan, but the entire OSU offensive line during this Saturday's spring game. The unit has been a strength for the Buckeyes through Meyer's first four seasons in Columbus, but never before has it possessed as many question marks as it does already at this point in the year.

Dominant Defense?

As far as the other side of the ball is concerned, the Buckeyes face no shortage of questions on defense heading into 2016 as well.

Like the offense, just three starters return, with linebacker Raekwon McMillan and cornerback Gareon Conley seeing limited reps as the elder statesmen of the unit, while defensive end Tyquan Lewis recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. One new starter, however, who possesses plenty of experience is defensive end Sam Hubbard, who recorded 6.5 sacks as a reserve and redshirt freshman in 2015.

Expected to fill the void left by Bosa, a surefire first-round pick in the upcoming NFL draft, Hubbard will be one of the most important players on not just the Ohio State defense, but its entire roster. In just his second full spring as a defensive lineman, the former tight end/linebacker has certainly looked the part and appears poised to build on his impressive debut campaign.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

"He has to be. I really think he will, too," Meyer answered when asked if Hubbard is already a player he's counting on. "He's really coming along. What a great kid, great worker."

Outside of Hubbard, the Buckeyes' defensive situation looks less certain. Cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Denzel Ward are still battling it out for the right to start opposite Conley, a matchup that could make for one of the more interesting competitions to watch on Saturday.

With Meyer having shown a propensity to pass more than run in spring games, judging a relatively inexperienced linebacking corps will be difficult. But a depleted safety depth chart will be tested plenty, giving new co-defensive coordinator Greg Schiano an opportunity to showcase his latest work in Columbus.

Ultimately, however, the defense has looked much further ahead than its offensive counterpart throughout this spring.

Now it's just a matter of seeing if that will hold true come Saturday.

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.