COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State will begin spring football practice on March 17, but things will be different than in years past.

Fresh off finishing a 16-game season and capping it with a national championship win over Notre Dame on Jan. 20, Ohio State needs to give its players a break.

But coach Ryan Day is challenged with trying to get important reps for a team that is replacing eight starters on defense, its quarterback, a slot receiver, three offensive linemen and two leading running backs. Cutting the roster numbers from 120 to 105 is another layer of the ever-changing college football landscape.

For Ohio State, the first step was cutting its spring work from five weeks to four. Instead of starting the first week of March and taking a week off for spring break, Ohio State pushed it back a week, and it won’t have as many practices with full pads.

“We have 15 opportunities, and in the past, they were all padded, very physical. It will not be the case this spring,” Day said. “We will use some helmet practices almost like OTAs.”

Every year, the top players miss time in the spring because there’s no reason to risk injuries during the offseason. That usually broke the players into two groups, the experienced players who didn’t need the reps or were rehabbing minor injuries and then the rest of the players who were full participants.

This spring, Day said the roster will be broken into three parts: experienced players like safety Caleb Downs who don’t need major reps and will be limited; experienced players who are stepping into bigger roles and need to practice, like defensive ends Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Caden Curry; and the young players who have to get as many reps as possible.

Day said the staff will do its best to manage those groups as closely as possible.

All of the planning for spring is usually capped with a spring game in April. Ohio State announced it will host its Spring Showcase on April 12, and while many teams around the country are moving away from a traditional spring game, Ohio State isn’t sure what it will do. Day said it will have a game-like feel regardless.

“The first time we play a game will be against Texas so getting some of the young players in the stadium with a crowd will be important,” Day said. “It won’t just be a bunch of 7-on-7 and guys running around doing individual drills; we will do the best we can to simulate game opportunities for our players.”

Friday was the first time Day and the entire coaching staff have spoken to the media since winning the national championship. Here are a few other takeaways from the two-hour availability.

Hicks working with D-line

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson announced that C.J. Hicks, who has played linebacker his entire career at Ohio State, is in the process of moving to defensive end for his senior season.

The former five-star prospect from Dayton is with the defensive line full time now and is working to catch up to what his responsibilities would be as an edge rusher. Hicks long has been thought of as one of Ohio State’s best pass rushers, but he hasn’t gotten extended work on the defensive line.

Under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, Hicks stayed as a linebacker but never cracked the top two on the depth chart. Now, with Arvell Reese taking over as the second linebacker and with a lack of depth at defensive end, Hicks is making the move he has wanted.

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The move could benefit Hicks and Ohio State in a major way as the program transitions to new defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s scheme. The Buckeyes don’t plan on a complete overhaul, but both Patricia and Johnson said they expect Ohio State to use multiple fronts.

“That’s a bonus because (Hicks) can stay on the field,” Johnson said. “You can drop in from space, blitz him, and as we go forward, we’ll try and build that, but we can’t build it around one guy. It’s early stages, so it’s hard to say this is what we’re going to do, but I know C.J. is happy where he’s at.”

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That could mean a versatile role for Hicks, who fits that mold perfectly. The adjustment for Hicks, who is a natural at rushing the passer, will be using his hands against tight ends and offensive tackles.

“If we can walk out of spring with him feeling good about playing the run and rushing the passer, then we got a bonus, and that’s the goal,” Johnson said.

Hicks is going to an important spring. He spent three years trying to crack the linebacker depth chart and is now moving positions late in his career. If he succeeds the way Ohio State believes he can, it could add another dynamic piece to a talented, yet inexperienced, front.

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QB plan

As expected, Day didn’t announce a starting quarterback or even name a frontrunner on Friday. Ohio State expects its quarterbacks, sophomores Julian Sayin and Lincoln Kienholz and true freshman Tavien St. Clair to compete for the starting job.

Sayin seems to be the early favorite considering he jumped Kienholz on the depth chart last season, but Day said the coaches are going to evaluate everything throughout the spring and give each quarterback reps with the starters, second team and third team.

While it seems unlikely that St. Clair will come in right away and take the job, he’s not as far behind as some quarterbacks have been in the past. St. Clair lived in Bellefontaine, Ohio, just an hour from campus, and was able to make it to every spring practice last season and was with the team for the entire College Football Playoff run.

He already has a grasp of the offense. Even though he’ll have to get adjusted to the speed of the game, Ohio State will give him a chance to compete right away.

If the past two years were any evidence, Ohio State won’t have its quarterback battle wrapped up by the end of the spring practice, especially with it being shorter this offseason. But it should give us a look at who is ready to take the next step.

Hartline’s role

The wait finally has paid off for Brian Hartline. He has been one of the best wide receiver coaches in the country for years and was rewarded for his growth two years ago when Day named him the team’s offensive coordinator before the 2023 season. But he wasn’t given play-calling duties during that season. Day kept that responsibility for a year and then decided to pass it off last offseason and hired Chip Kelly as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Hartline took a backseat in that time, serving as the co-offensive coordinator, and tried to soak up as much knowledge as he could from Kelly and Day.

“For me, it’s having an opportunity to be with the best staff in America every day with the best head coach, it’s staying off your phone and paying attention and taking notes and maximizing your time,” Hartline said. “It’s amazing the amount of people that don’t do that. Every time I’m in a meeting I try to leave with a nugget, or I’m getting information and make sure I truly understand it.”

Now, he’s getting his shot to be the offensive coordinator again and to be the play caller, while Day continues his role as CEO of the team. Hartline says he feels ready for the change.

While some coaches step away from their position groups when they become a coordinator, using an analyst or graduate assistant to help with their room, Hartline doesn’t expect to do that.

“Nothing will change in my involvement in the receiver room,” he said.

As Kelly became more involved with the offensive scheme last year, Billy Fessler acted as the de facto quarterbacks coach when Kelly was otherwise occupied. Now Fessler is the full-time quarterbacks coach.

Hartline has a good relationship with Devin Jordan, his assistant who works with Hartline with the receivers. Hartline trusts Jordan, but Hartline isn’t giving up any responsibilities with his receivers.

“I think it’s important that I’m organized so I’m never pulled away,” Hartline said. “I will be in that receiver room, and they will be coached to the very highest level.”

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Johnson-Knowles relationship

There have long been rumors going about the relationship that Johnson and Knowles had behind the scenes, that there was a feud about what the Buckeyes should do schematically. On Friday, Johnson went on the record and said that was never the case.

“Jim and I had a great relationship,” Johnson said. “That story got created, which is unfair.”

Much of the conversation around Knowles and Johnson came down to the idea that they had different defensive philosophies. Knowles came to Ohio State with a 3-4 background, wanting to utilize the Jack position as a hybrid pass rusher. Johnson long has been a 4-3 coach but said that the difference between the schemes is just “semantics.”

“Everybody is confused that I’m a 4-3 guy, but if you take an end and stand him up, you can slide to a 3-4 just like that,” Johnson said. “That’s a multiple defense without changing personnel. We can go to a four-man, three-man, a five-man or six-man in a heartbeat. We’ve been multiple.”

Johnson added that he never told Knowles the Buckeyes shouldn’t run a 3-4 defense.

“We had really good conversations and there was never a moment where we were like, ‘Hey I don’t want the 3-4,’” Johnson said. “Never that. It was, ‘What’s the best fit for our players?’ That was always the conversation. There was no conflict.”

(Top photo of Ryan Day: Kyle Robertson / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)