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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- At the start of his eighth season as Ohio State football head coach, Ryan Day is looking for his eighth consecutive AP top 10 finish, including No. 5 last season when the Buckeyes fell short of defending their 2024 national championship.
With those high expectations in mind, he had a relatively long list of concerns after coming off the practice field Thursday for the first time this preseason.
"Well, I think we all wanna see how the offensive line shakes out here, that's for sure," Day said. "I think the tight end room is an interesting room. I think that we do have some depth there, but who's actually gonna take the majority of those reps?"
He also listed backup quarterback and receiver slots three, four, five and six before wondering about the running back position, where 1,000-yard rusher Bo Jackson is back, and the defensive secondary as a whole.
While Day being mostly concerned about backups might illustrate the types of "problems" most coaches would gladly take, the offensive line was a sore point throughout the offseason after getting shoved around in season-ending losses to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game and Miami (Fla.) in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Four starters return, but more than one position might have a new starter when the Buckeyes open the season at home against Ball State on Sept. 5.
Austin Siereveld, who started at left tackle last season, was at right guard Thursday to allow the team to take a look at Ian Moore at left tackle.
They could end up joining center Carson Hinzman, left guard Luke Montgomery and right tackle Phillip Daniels in the starting lineup, but others are also likely to get a look this month, including Joshua Padilla at guard.
USC loses starter
LOS ANGELES -- Southern California starting center Kilian O'Connor will miss the upcoming season due to injury.
Head coach Lincoln Riley announced O'Connor's injury Thursday at USC's new $225 million Bloom Football Performance Center. Riley wasn't specific about the nature of O'Connor's setback, only calling it a non-contact "freak injury" that required surgery.
"Tough one for us, I think more than anything from an emotional standpoint," Riley said.
O'Connor started seven games last season as a redshirt junior in his first year on scholarship at USC. He was expected to anchor the Trojans' offensive line again this fall in his fifth year in the program.
USC had hoped to return its entire starting offensive line from last season's 9-4 team, but O'Connor's injury will prevent it. Riley has said the Trojans have more depth on their offensive line than at any other point in his five-year tenure.
Riley wasn't immediately sure how the Trojans will replace O'Connor. Guard Tobias Raymond has played center in spring practice.