COLUMBUS, Ohio — When Torrance Gibson found himself scoring not one, but two touchdowns during Ohio State’s spring game on Saturday, it didn’t come as a surprise to those who followed the former 4-star prospect’s recruitment. After all, Gibson is just a year removed from being an Army All-American selection as a dual-threat quarterback, the nation’s sixth-ranked athlete and one of the crowned jewels of the Buckeyes’ 2015 class. But when it came to Gibson’s paths to the end zone on Saturday, those were perhaps less predictable for those who haven’t kept up with the former American Heritage (Plantation, Florida) star since his arrival in Columbus a year ago. Having since converted to wide receiver, Gibson is no longer rushing or throwing for touchdowns but rather catching them, and during Ohio State’s annual exhibition, it certainly looked like the right move. Standing at a rangy 6’4″ and weighing in at 205 pounds, looking the part has never been Gibson’s problem. Rumors of a potential position switch accompanied the Sunshine State product’s recruitment, given his natural athleticism and the emergence of the bigger, faster receivers such as A.J. Green and Julio Jones who are so prominent in the NFL. And although the Ohio State staff’s insistence that Gibson would remain a quarterback lasted less than two months into his arrival on campus—he could first be seen practicing with the Buckeyes wide receivers last August—Saturday offered the first chance…

A record of 100,189 spectators came out to see Ohio State wrap up spring practice with its annual spring game, and the Gray team came out victorious with a 28-17 win over the J.T. Barrett-led Scarlet team. It was an important camp for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes, who are undergoing a near-complete overhaul after losing eight starters on each side of the ball from last year’s team. And with injuries to key returning players such as Noah Brown and Tyquan Lewis, there was an enormous youth movement in Columbus this spring. Which players and position groups are entering the summer with positive momentum, and which still have some ground to make up before fall camp starts? Begin Slideshow

COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the second consecutive year, all eyes were on the signal-callers at the Ohio State Buckeyes’ spring game. But as opposed to a year ago, the star of the show won’t have a direct impact on the upcoming season. At least that’s the plan. With his competition with former teammate Cardale Jones, who is now just limited to halftime entertainment, J.T. Barrett knows his starting job is safe, as evidenced by the Buckeyes’ quarterback playing just one half of Saturday’s exhibition. But behind Barrett, a battle to be his backup—and possibly, his successor—has raged on throughout the spring, although based on Saturday, it may not have been much of a competition. Quarterbacking the Gray team against Barrett’s—and eventually Stephen Collier’s—Scarlet squad, Joe Burrow stole the show at Ohio State’s annual exhibition. Playing his snaps as a quarterback inside of Ohio Stadium, the redshirt freshman looked impressive, completing 14 of his 23 attempts for 196 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-17 victory for the Gray in front of a national spring-game record 100,189 fans. “Joe Burrow has been coming on,” Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer said after the game. “Last year, I had my concerns. Just arm strength, release, twitch, ability to run the ball because you have to do that. He’s gotten better. He’s a grinder….you see him starting to grow.” Based on the playing time divvied up between the two backup quarterbacks heading into…

The Gray team defeated the Scarlet team, 28-17, in Ohio State’s annual spring football game in front of a record-breaking crowd at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. One year after setting the national spring game attendance record with 99,391 fans at the Horseshoe, OSU upped the ante Saturday with 100,189 fans on hand to witness the exhibition, according to Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports. That prompted head coach Urban Meyer to show his gratitude on Twitter: Junior quarterback J.T. Barrett entered the game with all eyes on him, but he struggled with two interceptions for the Scarlet team, while freshman Joe Burrow put up 196 yards and three scores through the air for the Gray squad. As seen in this GIF courtesy of Ohio State Buckeyes on Twitter, the players were pumped and ready to play after a long offseason: That included Meyer, who entered the contest with a positive outlook, as evidenced by this video via Ohio State on BTN: Emotions ran high prior to the start of the game, as a moment of silence was held for late Ohio State and New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, as seen in this video provided by Big Ten Network: Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors offered a look at the helmet decals Buckeyes players wore in memory of Smith: After being mired in a quarterback controversy with Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller over the previous couple seasons, Barrett stepped onto the field as the unquestioned starter Saturday and got his spring off to…

Ohio State’s spring game is set to kick off on April 16 in Ohio Stadium, and a number of new faces will make their first legitimate appearances of their Buckeye careers. With eight new starters needed on each side of the ball, head coach Urban Meyer is eager to see how his younger players react to playing in front of a big crowd. “There’s nothing like performing in front of 100,000 people and I watch that,” Meyer said, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors. That six-figure fan projection is something Meyer hopes to see with a sunny, cloudless day in Columbus expected for the game. Ohio State’s head man also hopes to see some growth from his young team, and he’ll have a particularly close eye on the following players because they could end up playing huge roles for the 2016 season. Begin Slideshow

Ohio State got an infusion of speed when head coach Urban Meyer took over the recruiting in 2012, but with preparations for the 2016 season in full swing, the Buckeyes are looking to get even faster. New names and faces will arrive in Columbus as Ohio State continues its quest to replace eight starters on both sides of the ball. Meyer and the Buckeyes coaching staff are struggling to establish a depth chart with all the youth and injuries, but one thing they can establish is a new pace and identity. That will be on display on Saturday, when the Buckeyes take the field in Ohio Stadium for the annual spring game. Defensive Speed Ohio State’s defense was fast a season ago, and a number of former Buckeyes—defensive backs Tyvis Powell and Eli Apple and linebacker Darron Lee—proved that by running 4.4 40-yard dashes at the NFL combine. But despite the departure of a number of blazers, there are many who think Ohio State’s 2016 defense will be even faster than the ’15 edition. “It’s fast, it’s a fast defense,” defensive end Tyquan Lewis said, per Tony Gerdeman of The Ozone. “It’s probably the fastest defense Coach Larry Johnson has ever seen. It’s pretty good.” Johnson, Ohio State’s defensive line coach, who held the same position at Penn State from 1996-2013, has seen some fast defenses in his day. The new projected starters will have to bring a decided edge for this to be true, but that’s the feeling some have for the new…

Ohio State lost a wave of superstars with the departures of running back Ezekiel Elliott, linebacker Darron Lee, wide receiver Michael Thomas and 13 other starters from its 2015 team. But with the ever-present expectation of excellence that surrounds the football program, head coach Urban Meyer will need a number of players to break out and have big seasons for the Buckeyes this fall. The quest to identify those players is underway as the Buckeyes completed the ninth of 15 spring practices on Tuesday. With injuries to some key players and so much youth on the depth chart, Meyer knows he has to start making some tough calls regarding the depth chart. “We have to make some hard decisions coming up here,” Meyer said on Tuesday, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors. “There’s some guys that are gonna play and some guys that aren’t gonna play.” These three players in particular would provide a huge boost if they’re able to break out in 2016. Mike Weber, Running Back Throughout the duration of spring camp, the Ohio State coaching staff has routinely talked about the possibility of implementing a running back-by-committee approach for the 2016 season. “Will we get to that point? I don’t know,” Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford said, according to Seger. “I guess the question you’re asking is if we’ll do it by committee? I don’t have that answer right now.” The Buckeyes, of course, are replacing do-everything back Ezekiel…

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer is widely seen as one of the best recruiters in all of college football, but Kentucky signee Landon Young did not like the way the three-time national champion and his school pursued him as a prospect. Young, who is a 4-star offensive tackle and part of Kentucky’s 2016 recruiting class, per 247Sports’ composite rankings, criticized Meyer’s treatment of him as a recruit to David Collier of SECCountry.com. Meyer took note and responded Tuesday to the criticism, per Austin Ward of ESPN.com. Meyer said he read the comments and discussed them with his staff: “We have a lot of respect for him as a player, a lot. I was very disappointed in our staff that we didn’t offer him earlier. Then about the treatment thing, we don’t do that on purpose, if that’s his feelings. I went back and talked to our staff about it.” Meyer did make sure to point out “that was one recruit out of 650 saying ‘Someone has treated me bad,’” per Ward. Young made visits to Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina as a prospect before ultimately choosing the hometown Wildcats. However, the Lexington native made news as he recalled his negative interactions with Meyer when he asked the Ohio State coach why he wasn’t on the Buckeyes’ radar earlier in the process, per Collier: I had gone up to camp there, and they had treated me like a piece of meat, just treated me like…

Former Ohio State and NFL quarterback Troy Smith was arrested and charged with “improper display of license tags, OVI and possession of marijuana” early Sunday morning, according to 10TV.com. Smith, 31, tested .143 after being pulled over by police. According to Cpl. Greg Franey of the Westerville Division of Police, the 31-year-old was pulled over on S. State Street at 2:38 a.m., per the Columbus Dispatch. The 2006 Heisman Trophy winner last appeared in an NFL game in 2010 with the San Francisco 49ers. He began his NFL career as a backup for the Baltimore Ravens before stints with the Niners and Pittsburgh Steelers. He compiled 1,734 passing yards, eight passing touchdowns, five interceptions, 230 rushing yards and three more rushing touchdowns in 20 NFL games, completing just 51.7 percent of his passes. Smith also spent time with the Omaha Nighthawks of the UFL in 2011 and the Montreal Alouettes in 2013. His excellent college career concluded after he led the Buckeyes to the 2007 BCS Championship Game, where they lost to the Florida Gators, 41-14. Smith is currently a free agent. Read more Ohio State Football news on BleacherReport.com

At just over 6’0″, Nebraska’s Lavonte David slipped on draft day until late in Round 2 thanks to concerns about how a linebacker at his size, despite all of his production and explosiveness, would transition to the NFL. Four years later, David is one of the NFL’s best outside linebackers, leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ tremendous and young defensive front seven. With similar measuarables and even better NFL Scouting Combine numbers, Ohio State’s Darron Lee is aiming to be the NFL’s newest version of David, with more optimism about draft position thanks to the change in how NFL teams value linebackers. The 6’1″ Lee boasts some of the most remarkable athleticism of any defender in the 2016 class. And that athletic ability, though littered with technical areas of improvement, has already shown teams his tremendous change of direction in coverage, run support and as a pass-rusher despite his size limitations. Athleticism Abound If there’s one thing Lee has over David as a prospect, it’s his natural athletic upside. Besting David’s 2012 combine performance, per NFL Draft Scout, in every speed-based category except for the vertical jump, Lee wowed with an 11’1″ broad jump and 4.47 40-yard dash time, both among the best of any player in attendance. And in games, Lee’s able to show that consistently, especially when reading and reacting in space. In the play above, Lee (No. 43) quickly and…