3 Biggest Questions Facing Ohio State Entering Fall Camp

Just hours away from the beginning of the Ohio State Buckeyes falll camp., it seems like all eyes are on coach Ryan Day's team.

After all, Ohio State appeared at No. 1 on the AFCA Coaches poll released yesterday.

With the Buckeyes fall camp slated to kick off at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on Thursday August 6, at 9:00 a.m., here are three questions facing Ohio State as they begin final preparations towards their regular season.

1. How will Julian Sayin look?

For a brief moment there, Sayin looked like the best quarterback in all of football last season, when he became the odds on favorite to win the Heisman Trophy before being relegated to a fourth place in the voting.

As he approaches his second year at the controls of Ohio State’s offense, expectations can’t be higher for Sayin, who already proved that he doesn’t get rattled in big games. What he does need to prove is he can sustain a high level all through the campaign.

Speaking with Pat McAfee on his show, coach Day stated how excited the team was in bringing back Sayin for Round 2 in Columbus.

“For us on offense, we do have a lot of pieces coming back. As you said, we have Julian and Jeremiah [Smith], Brandon Inniss on the outside. But also, our offensive line. We need to build off of last year. I thought there was certain things that we did early on that was good, bringing Julian along, young player. But now this is Year 2 for him, which since I’ve been here, it’s only the third time we’ve had that, you know with Justin [Fields] and then with C.J. Stroud.

"We do have a lot of pieces coming back on offense and we need to build off of last year..

This is year two for Julian Sayin and that's exciting"@ryandaytime #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/rGUNv06vkz
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 5, 2026

So that’s exciting because as we go into this year, not everything’s for the first time with Julian, and he’s gonna have an experienced offensive line.”

2. What's the offensive backfield going to look like behind Bo Jackson?

Day didn’t mince words when it comes to the running backs, saying during the Big Ten Media Day sessions that “To me, a position group that's got to have a great preseason is the running back group. If we're going to get to where we need to go, we need a high level of play at that running back position. So this is critical.”

As a true freshman, Jackson amassed over 1,000 yards last year and he’ll return as the starter, but he’s coming off a shoulder injury during the spring, same as his expected top backup, Isaiah West.

True freshman Legend Bey has created a lot of buzz, but he’s coming off a spring injury that made him miss some valuable time, as well. Thus, the door is seemingly opening up for incoming transfer Ja’Kobi Jackson to get some critical reps. There’s a lot of talent here -- including Anthony “Turbo” Rogers, who redshirted last season -- but not a whole lot of experience as a group.

3. Does this defense have enough talent to stay elite?

Losing Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese, Kayden McDonald, Caden Curry, Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Davison Igbinosun in one NFL Draft is tough. Sure, Ohio State has done a marvelous job at repleneshing talent before, but staying at the top can't be taken for granted.

The Buckeyes will rely on a number of experienced transfers to contribute on defense, including linebacker Christian Alliegro, safeties Earl Little and Terry Moore, and defensive linemen James Smith, Qua Russaw and John Walker in the trenches.

All these guys need not only to buy in quickly into defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's system, but also mesh well with key holdovers from last year such as Kenyatta Jackson Jr., Will Smith Jr., Eddrick Houston, Payton Pierce, Riley Pettijohn, Devin Sanchez, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Jaylen McClain.

That might be easier said than done.

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