Ohio State is planning to have a later start to spring practice this year due to the Buckeyes’ 2024 season spilling into late January.
During an appearance on FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt’s podcast, “The Joel Klatt Show” on Sunday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said that practices will begin during the second to last week of March rather than early in the month.
An Ohio State spokesperson later confirmed to the Columbus Dispatch that spring practices would begin “after spring break,” which is March 10-14, giving the Buckeyes about two more weeks to rest following its extended national championship run than they would normally have to start a season.
“We just got done playing two weeks ago,” Day told Klatt.
As Day alluded to, Ohio State’s season ended on Jan. 20 with a 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the national title game, capping off a historic four-game run that began on Dec. 21 with a 41-17 victory over Tennessee at Ohio Stadium. These four extra postseason games gave Ohio State a 16-game schedule for the 2024-25 campaign, tied for the longest season by any program in the history of the sport with the Fighting Irish.
Day also told Klatt that because of the longer season he may want to give Ohio State’s veteran players less reps in spring practices, allowing some of the Buckeyes’ younger players to show their worth early on.
“We also have young guys who need the work,” Day said. “It’s going to be a unique year.”
Ohio State nor Day has yet to disclose a specific start date for spring practice, which will occur after a winter strength and conditioning program.
