Spring Camp Day 1: Mortar is the Most Important Part

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ATHENS, Ohio— The Ohio football team held its first of 15 spring practices today (March 19) inside Walter Fieldhouse.

Spring camp will conclude on Saturday, April 20 with the team's annual spring scrimmage. The scrimmage is scheduled to start at 11 a.m., weather pending. More information about the spring scrimmage and spring sale will be released at a later date.

Familiar faces on offense include quarterbacks Parker Navarro (Tempe, Ariz.) and CJ Harris (West Bloomfield, Mich.), running backs Rickey Hunt Jr. (Oklahoma City, Okla.) and Nolan McCormick (Mason, Ohio) and offensive linemen Shedrick Rhodes Jr. (McDonough, Ga.), Parker Titsworth (Wexford, Pa.) and Jacob Dennison (Mansfield, Ohio). Defensive returners include defensive end Bradley Weaver (Hilliard, Ohio), defensive tackle Rayyan Buell (Hornell, N.Y.), linebacker Shay Taylor (Mount Perry, Ohio), cornerback Torrie Cox Jr. (Miami Gardens, Fla.) and safety Adonis Williams Jr. (South Euclid, Ohio).

The 2023 squad finished the regular season with a 9-3 record, marking the first time Ohio football finished consecutive regular seasons with nine wins. Notably, Ohio defeated Iowa State 10-7 at home (Sept. 16) to mark its first Power Five win since 2017 during a five-game winning streak.

After the Bobcats' 41-21 victory over Georgia Southern in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Bowl, Ohio recorded their second consecutive 10-win season, which is a program first. This bowl win also marked the Bobcats' fifth bowl win in a row, tying the conference record for consecutive bowl wins.

Fourth-year head coach Tim Albin met with media today to discuss the upcoming weeks, returning athletes and what he loves about spring camp. The complete press conference is embedded below.

Comments from fourth-year head coach Tim Albin:

On starting spring camp
"When you're building a team this time of year, it's a new journey. Our eight-week conditioning program to get to this point has been outstanding. I think you're going to see a lot of new faces, particularly on offense, that are eager for their chance to go out and shine. So today was day one. We're not a finished product yet, but I'd certainly liked the energy and passion the kids are showing."

On the challenges that go with having new faces on offense
"Last year's challenge was the depth, especially from a special teams standpoint with the transfer portal. We had guys that didn't want to play behind the current starters, and we took a hit with our depth. This year is kind of the opposite on offense, which means we have seven new spots on offense; there's going to be great competition for this spring. So, again, the last two seasons have been different— and that's what we're in the process of dealing with right now— and the kids are excited and eager."

On new faces this spring
"I'll start with defense. We're not going to be able to replace Bryce and Keye. I know that's what we're going to strive to do, and our athletes are going to work their tails off to do that. I like what I see. Shay [Taylor] played great in the bowl game. He's done a great job with his leadership in the offseason. We're going to miss Justin Birchette as a senior corner[back], but I'm excited about Kendall Bannister, Mekah Ryder and Tank Pearson. I think there's goingto be some opportunities there and some great competition at corner. You're going to miss Vonnie [Watkins], but Bradley Weaver, Rayyan Buell, Kadin Schmitz… they're the guys that are going to be busting their tails to fill those roles."

"Offensively, at quarterback: CJ Harris and Parker Navarro. They work extremely hard. They're winners—they've won bowl games, scored touchdowns in those bowl games. They're excited. Rickey Hunt Jr. and Nolan McCormick are excited [after the bowl game]. I'm excited for those guys. I told the team before we started after stretch this morning that, 'Hey, I'm excited to watch these guys get out there and apply the eight weeks of work they've done up to this point, and it's a good first day.'"

On the important of spring practice
"Number one thing: you can talk x's and o's, the offense and the staff are studying different ideas and asking, 'what can we do better? What do we like, add, subtract.' But at the end of the day, it's about the community and the journey that we're going on and building togetherness. Football is the number one team sport on the planet. You've got so many move part—22 people on the field for the same time in the spring. The 'mortar' piece of this for us is the culture outside of here. They say culture, but it's mortar within these walls, and I think that's the most important thing."

On Rickey Hunt Jr.
"I think he knows he can do it. He had a reserve role all year, and he was given the opportunity and look what he did. And I want to say, there were several performances just like that. He couldn't have gotten that done without the offensive line. There's a lot of team-oriented and selfless roles in that game to get that done. I want to end it with the most important thing for spring: for us to get that done is about what we're doing right now. We're building and we have a 'next-man up' mentality and a championship mindset. I think that's really a very powerful thing for our staff and our program."

On quarterbacks CJ Harris and Parker Navarro
"Right now we're spitting it [first team reps] evenly. I haven't watched the film yet, but that's what it looks like on the script from today's practice. We think it will be even and it's going to be a great competition."

#OUohyeah

Spring Camp Day 1: Mortar is the Most Important Part

Players Mentioned

Kendall Bannister

Justin Birchette

Rayyan Buell

Torrie Cox Jr.

Jacob Dennison

CJ Harris

Rickey Hunt Jr.

Nolan McCormick

Parker Navarro

Tank Pearson

Shedrick Rhodes Jr.

Mekah Ryder

Kadin Schmitz

Shay Taylor

Parker Titsworth

Bradley Weaver

Adonis Williams Jr.

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