Buckeyes start spring with 51 new faces

COLUMBUS — New faces. Lots of new faces. Ohio State coach Ryan Day mentioned — twice — the fact the Buckeyes' football team has 51 new players on its roster who weren't there during last year's 12-2 season during a press conference on the first day of spring practice Tuesday. "There were 51 new faces. We've got a lot of film to watch and get to work on," Day said. "With 51 (new) guys there's a lot to look at and figure out." Ohio State has eight returning starters on offense and three on defense. Quarterback Julian Sayin, receivers Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss, running back Bo Jackson and offensive linemen Austin Siereveld, Luke Montgomery, Carson Hinzman and Phillip Daniels are back on offense. Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson and defensive backs Jermaine Mathews and Jaylen McClain are the returning defensive starters. Some highlights from Day's press conference: — Bo Jackson and Isaiah West being kept out of spring practice because of injuries and the inexperience at running back. "Right now I would say running back is my biggest concern," Day said. "We're missing Bo and Isaiah. Ja'kobi (Jackson) is somebody who has played a little bit of football but not a ton. We have Turbo (Rogers), Favour (Akih) and Legend (Bey). That's a young group so they've really got to step up. The first day it was a little rough so we've got work to do there." -- There could be some shuffling on the offensive line to determine the players' best positions and the line's best combination. "We want to get the best five out there," Day said. "We want to get Ian (Moore) some guard work and tackle work. Austin (Siereveld) will be mostly at tackle, though we've seen him at guard before. Gabe (VanSickle) will be mostly at guard. Josh (Padilla) will play some guard and some at center, though he's probably going to be limited most of the spring. "It's a good opportunity to get some young guys in there. We are going to have a lot of young guys fighting for reps. We're going to try to find the five who give us the best chance to win and then build depth off that. There will be a lot of interchanging guys." — Day wants quarterback Julian Sayin to "make an impact with his legs when appropriate." He called Sayin running the ball "the X-factor that has to show up this year," and said, "He's aware of that and has been working hard in the off season." — Day said this team has displayed maturity. "With half the team being new there is a camaraderie being built now that is important. I really like this team, I like the guys. I really like their energy, their competitiveness, their seriousness. It's a mature group, but we haven't been together very long so we've got work to do." — Asked about Legend Bey, a 4-star freshman from Texas who had the wildest recruiting process of any of OSU's first-year players, Day said, "We'll have to see. It's just day one out there. He was a quarterback in high school so he has a tremendous skill set. He's dynamic with the ball in his hands. We see him as someone who can play running back and move out to wide receiver. "I wasn't here with Curtis Samuel, but I've watched a lot of film of him and he kind of reminds of that style of player."