INDIANAPOLIS — Here are four things we learned about Ohio State as it took its turn at Big Ten media days on Tuesday.

Quarterback competition continues

Coach Ryan Day is planning to maximize repetitions among quarterbacks in the early days of preseason training camp, which opens on Aug. 1.

Day said they will divide the Buckeyes between two of their practice fields for 11-on-11 periods over the first four practices.

“It allows us to get almost double the amount of reps in a less amount of time,” Day said. “The more reps we can get for all five of those quarterbacks, we’re going to do.”

After an off day on Aug. 5, they will reevaluate their plans.

“At that point, we’ll probably be more deliberate about how we parse out the reps,” Day said.

The Buckeyes have a large collection of quarterbacks, including five on scholarship, after none transferred during the spring window in April.

The perceived front-runner in the competition to replace Kyle McCord, who transferred to Syracuse last winter, remains Will Howard. A transfer from Kansas State who arrived at Ohio State in January for his final year of eligibility, Howard made 27 starts with the Wildcats.

“He’s an older guy,” Day said. “He’s played a lot of football. That’s something we watched and evaluated and brought him in. Experience does matter.”

The first two weeks of camp will shape the competition, which includes returning quarterbacks Devin Brown and Lincoln Kienholz, as well as freshmen Julian Sayin and Air Noland.

Brown pushed McCord for the starting job last season as a redshirt freshman and started in the Cotton Bowl before spraining an ankle.

The competition has continued to this point as Day allowed the new arrivals to acclimate to the program.

“After first two weeks of the preseason, we’ll see where everybody is based on their knowledge of their offense,” Day said. “But some guys have really stepped up in the summer. It’s leadership. It’s a lot of different things you can evaluate in the summer. But it’s going to come down to what happens on the field.”

Ohio State staff involvement increases

The NCAA’s removal of limits on the number of on-field assistant coaches, previously capped at 10, will allow Ohio State to have members of its support staff more involved coaching during practices.

“All those guys are out at practice,” Day said. “They just haven’t been allowed to participate. Now they can.”

Day identified a handful of staffers who will be given more responsibilities, including quality control coach Tim Drevno with the offensive line, Garren DuHart with the secondary and quality control coach Sam McGrath with the linebackers.

Rob Keys, a quality control coach who has worked with the special teams since 2022, is also expected to have a larger role with the units and lead meetings.

“That one is going to be a little more significant,” Day said.

The Buckeyes did not hire a dedicated special teams coordinator to replace Parker Fleming, who was fired after three seasons in January.

In spring practice, Day divided the responsibilities for kickoff, punt and returns among four position coaches.

Ohio State starting right guard still up for grabs

A handful of offensive linemen are in the mix to replace Matt Jones as the starting right guard.

Day said Carson Hinzman and Seth McLaughlin can both swing between center and guard and mentioned Luke Montgomery and Tegra Tshabola as other candidates.

“I really feel like we have some decent guys in there who can fill that role,” Day said.

Hinzman started at center as a redshirt freshman for the Buckeyes last fall, while McLaughlin anchored Alabama’s offensive line in previous seasons before transferring to Ohio State.

Montgomery and Tshabola are less experienced underclassmen, but were highly ranked recruits coming out of high school in Ohio.

A native of Findlay, Montgomery was the No. 92 prospect in the nation in the 2023 class, and Tshabola, a native of West Chester, was the No. 104 prospect in the 2022 class.

Buckeyes are largely healthy

Day confirmed TC Caffey, a walk-on running back, suffered a season-ending knee injury this summer.

Caffey, who also missed last season with a knee injury, flashed as a freshman when he ran for a 49-yard touchdown late in a rout of Toledo and was poised to provide depth at a position that includes only four scholarship backs.

But the Buckeyes are expected to have the rest of their players available for the start of camp, including wide receiver Brandon Inniss and safety Lathan Ransom who will both be “full go” after they were limited by injuries in spring practice.

Inniss told The Dispatch last week that he has felt at full strength this summer and has been participating in strength and conditioning workouts after he sustained a hairline fracture in his right foot during a practice in March.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Big Ten media days: 4 things we learned about Ohio State football