Three observations from Ohio State’s 2026 spring game

Pressure was familiar territory for Sayin

Much like the last two games of last season, Sayin saw entirely too much of opposing pass rushers in his face on Saturday. Although they didn’t have to make a tackle under the game’s contact rules, Kenyatta Jackson and Beau Atkinson harassed the sophomore quarterback repeatedly in the early stages of the game. While the offensive line in the spring game was shuffled and is still a work in progress, Ohio State must protect better in 2026 than it did in the two postseason games at the end of the 2025 campaign. Jackson and Atkinson will need to wrap up rather than simply touch the quarterback when the games count, but it was good to see them asserting themselves as Matt Patricia reloads the defense.

Plenty of defensive standouts

With a lot of guys rotating in and out, it doesn’t leave much time for players to leave a big impression. That said, there were some standouts on defense, and this is who flashed on Saturday.

• Atkinson did well to latch onto a tipped ball from Will Smith Jr. to give himself an interception to go with his sack. It’s hard to quantify the eye test, but Atkinson looked more explosive to me.
• Jackson picked up a couple of sacks, although a big grain of salt must be taken with spring game sacks due to the touch rule for quarterbacks. He seems poised for a big 2026 season.
• Several Buckeyes shone in coverage, but it would be nice to see the defense hang on when an opposing quarterback puts a pass in their hands.
• Bradford, Cam Calhoun, Miles Lockhart, and Ryan Rudzinski aren’t household names, but all made at least one nice play in coverage in the first half, when Sayin and St. Clair were spinning the ball.
• Cincere Johnson showed he’s going to be a monster on a third-and-short play, when he shot a gap and pulled down Ja’Kobi Jackson, who had just shown in each of the two previous plays how hard he can be to tackle. Obviously, the defense is ahead of the offense at this point, which is why the Gray squad won the game. The depth players looked solid, and Matt Patricia will enter his second year looking to build on an incredible first year in Columbus. Spring ball is over, and we won’t get another look at the Buckeyes until the season opener. The team will look a bit different with injured players who were held out returning before the Ball State game. There are jobs still to be won and lost. But the coaching staff has a good understanding after spring practice and the spring game of what they have to work with as the 2026 season gets closer.