Five things from Ryan Day on OSU spring practice

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COLUMBUS — Five thoughts from Ryan Day after five days of spring football practice at Ohio State:

• There is still a long way to go before the decision about who will be the starting quarterback.

That decision might take until OSU’s season opener on Sept. 2 at Minnesota.

“Even then you might not know,” Day said. “The more practices we have, the more times we can put them in game situations, the better feel we’ll have.”

The three candidates to replace Justin Fields are redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud, redshirt freshman Jack Miller and freshman Kyle McCord. None of them has thrown a pass in college.

“I think they all share that they’re doing some things for the first time. They all throw the ball well, the ball comes out of their hands real well. But they still need to work on consistency and fundamentals in different areas,” Day said.

“You can’t win the job in one day, you can’t win the job with one throw. You have to build over time. That’s important to understand. I think it’s easy when you’re young to try to force the action and win the job. It doesn’t come that way, it comes over time.”

• Spring practice could be very important for sophomore tight end Cade Stover.

Stover, who was Ohio’s Mr. Football in 2018 at Lexington High School, originally was put at linebacker when he arrived at OSU. Then he was moved to defensive end before switching to tight end.

He once described himself as “an offensive guy with a defensive mindset.”

Ohio State often lined up with two tight ends last season. But with Luke Farrell graduating the search is on to find someone to pair with Jeremy Ruckert in those situations this season.

“This is a big spring for him. This is a time when he really has to step up now,” Day said. “I think he’s poised to do that. We’ll see how this spring goes but we’re excited about what we see.”

• Cornerback Lejond Cavazos, a redshirt freshman, has had some good moments this spring but needs to be more consistent.

“He flashes, he has done some things early. Consistency is something we’re looking for from him. The coaches on defense talk about how he does flash and show he can do it but he needs to do it all the time,” Day said.

Cavazos, a 4-star recruit, was not cleared to play until late November last season because of an injury.

• Sophomore safety Lathan Ransom, who played in both of Ohio State’s playoff games and the Big Ten championship game last season, has continued to make a good impression this spring.

“He really came on for us and played well, especially in the semifinal game against Clemson. He showed that he could do that in practice. He’s got a really bright future ahead of him. I’m really excited to see him play this season,” Day said.

• Today is Ohio State’s pro day, when players work out in front of NFL scouts and general managers at the Woody Hayes Center.

Asked what he would say if asked why an NFL team should draft quarterback Justin Fields, Day said, “The first thing is you look at the way he competes on the field that speaks for itself. Not only his ability to throw the ball and his size but also his ability to make plays. He’s tough, he’s really smart. He picks things up really quickly. And he’s very, very competitive. When you combine the talent, the size, his competitiveness, his toughness, he kind of checks all the boxes.”

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By Jim Naveau

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Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414 or on Twitter at @Lima_Naveau

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