The Bobcats took part in a hard-hitting Friday night practice.
The Bobcats took the field Friday to a crowded Walter Fieldhouse, practicing for the ninth time this spring.
With Athens community members and high school recruits in attendance, the Bobcats had their highest-intensity practice of the spring to this point.
But with just over half of the 15 practices allowed by the NCAA during the spring completed, coach Frank Solich still was adamant that there remains "more work to be done".
“It’s very difficult in the spring to progress the way you want to progress,” he said. “When you’re giving everybody on your team reps and you’re trying to evaluate everybody, you don’t look for perfection, you kind of look for athletic ability and where guys fit on the depth chart.”
Here’s a look at where both sides of the ball sit at this point in spring training:
Offense:
- The carousel continued around the quarterback position, with all four quarterbacks not named and J.D. Sprague getting almost equal chances across the board to compete for the starting role. Greg Windham has earned the most reps at the No. 1 spot and is looking like the most likely candidate to challenge Sprague for the spot.
“I think it’s been good that they’ve been able to get additional reps. Obviously we’d love to have J.D. out here, but it can benefit those guys through additional reps,” Solich said.
- The offensive line struggled in front of the quarterbacks, however, allowing pressures and would-be sacks throughout the evening. The line is replacing three of its five starters from last year’s team.
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“There were really good players we lost, but I think we can fill the void with good football players and get some really good young depth," Solich said.
- Sebastian Smith sat out of the last practice of the week for the second week in a row. It is unclear if it was due to an injury or if it was just rest for the senior wideout. Smith led Ohio last year with 65 receptions and 777 receiving yards to go along with seven touchdown receptions.
Defense:
- The defensive front seven had a monster day for the Bobcats on Friday, causing disruptions in the backfield and intercepting passes throughout the night.
- Tarell Basham and Kurt Laseak, who accounted for 10 total sacks together last season, will return for the Bobcats. The two could create a formidable defensive end pairing that should cause chaos for all offenses in the Mid-American Conference.
- The linebacker unit also had a strong evening, with numerous interceptions coming from them throughout the practice.
- The starters figure to be Blair Brown, Quentin Poling and Chad Moore. With those three in the fold, Ohio has depth and skill at the position, as Poling and Brown led the Bobcats in tackles last season with 69 and 65, respectively.
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