COLUMBUS – Ryan Shazier and Malcolm Jenkins will return to Ohio Stadium as honorary coaches for Ohio State’s spring game in April, the culmination of 14 days of practice during which time head coach Urban Meyer and his staff will have to at least begin the process of replacing one of the most storied athletes in Buckeye football history.
Shazier, the two-time Pittsburgh Steeler Pro Bowl linebacker, continues to rehabilitate the spinal injury he suffered Dec. 4. Jenkins recently completed his ninth NFL season and fourth with the Philadelphia Eagles, helping the team win its first-ever Super Bowl championship.
The LiFE Sports Spring Game, presented by Nationwide, Ohio Stadium (Sat., April 14,1:45 p.m.) Tickets $5/$15
As spring drills started early Tuesday morning at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, Meyer’s team had lost a total of 16 lettermen — five on offense and 11 on defense – from last year’s 12-2 team.
But none of the question marks in the two-deep lineup is as big or as boldly written as that at quarterback where J.T. Barrett departed, leaving behind his name at the top of all of the records for performances by an OSU quarterback. Three players will be competing for the starting spot when the regular season begins on Sept. 1: junior Joe Burrow, sophomore Dwayne Haskins and freshman Tate Martell.
Meyer and his staff will welcome 49 lettermen – 23 on offense, 22 on defense and four specialists – and 13 starters from the 2017 Big Ten Championship team.
Among those are the two 1,000-yard running backs who are exclamation points on the depth chart: J.K. Dobbins, who started every game in 2017 as a true freshman and set the school record for a freshman with 1,403 yards, and Mike Weber, who rushed for 1,096 yards in his freshman year in 2016 and came back from an injury to add 626 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2017.