Ohio State Looking to Balance Fundamental Development, Simulated Game Reps in 2021 Spring Practice

When Ohio State coach Ryan Day met with the media on National Signing Day in early February, he indicated the Buckeyes would “simulate as many games as possible” this spring to attempt to make up for the reps they lost in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After discussions with the rest of his coaching staff over the past month-and-a-half, however, Day is pulling back on that plan a bit.

Yes, Ohio State will still be looking to get its players as many reps as possible over the course of its 15 spring practices, which begin on Friday and will take place over the span of 29 days leading up to an April 17 spring game. But the coaches also believe it is important for the Buckeyes to get back to…