Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt got an up close and personal look at the Ohio State football team Saturday.

During Fox's broadcast of the Ohio State spring game, Klatt roamed the sideline with coach Ryan Day and saw a preview of what the Buckeyes could do after adding players such as Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs and Quinshon Judkins, along with a new offensive coordinator in Chip Kelly.

For Klatt, his impression of Ohio State starts with its defense.

"I would be pretty surprised if they're not the best defense in the country," Klatt said on "The Joel Klatt Show" Monday.

"They brought almost everybody back. And they add Caleb Downs. It's like, 'Wow. OK.' They made some adjustment at linebacker where they needed to fill some holes... They're going to be fantastic on the back end in the secondary. Lathan Ransom didn't even play Saturday. And they have great corners... And there was really nowhere to throw the football in that secondary."

Klatt views the Ohio State starting quarterback battle as a two-player race between returner Devin Brown and Kansas State transfer Will Howard. But Klatt said the quarterback will not be the focal point of the OSU offense under Kelly.

"Whether it's Will Howard or Devin Brown, they're going to have, I would expect, a run game that features the two best backs in college football: TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins," Klatt said. "These two guys are going to be a problem for defenses. I'm interested to see if they are in the backfield at the same time. I'm interested to see the schematics that Chip Kelly uses in order to try and run the football."

Klatt also said Ohio State will utilize "as deep a receiver corps and as good of a wide receiver corps as there is in college football" including Smith, who Klatt said "could be the best of them all" in the wide receiver room.

""I don't think they are going to need spectacular quarterback play in order to play elite-level offense because of the level of what's going on at the skill positions," Klatt said.

Klatt's biggest worry about Ohio State is on the offensive line.

He said the Ohio State starting offensive line "could suffer some growing pains early," but that the room's performance may not necessarily define the overall offense's production.

"That's why I'm interested to see what Chip Kelly does with the run game because he's been able to run the football with less than dominant offensive fronts basically his whole career," Klatt said. "So the schematics of how he does that, if he's able to do that and protect an offensive line and quarterback with all of the skill around him, in particular in the running back room, then this offense is going to have a real shot."

Ohio State opens the 2024 season at home against Akron Aug. 31.

Ohio State football schedule 2024

• Aug. 31: Ohio State vs. Akron; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Sept. 7: Ohio State vs. Western Michigan; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Sept. 21: Ohio State vs. Marshall; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Sept. 28: Ohio State at Michigan State; Spartan Stadium, East Lansing, Michigan

• Oct. 5: Ohio State vs. Iowa; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Oct. 12: Ohio State at Oregon; Autzen Stadium, Eugene, Oregon

• Oct. 26: Ohio State vs. Nebraska; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Nov. 2: Ohio State at Penn State; Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania

• Nov. 9: Ohio State vs. Purdue; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Nov. 16: Ohio State at Northwestern

• Nov. 23: Ohio State vs. Indiana; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

• Nov. 30: Ohio State vs. Michigan; Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Joel Klatt shares thoughts of Ohio State after 2024 OSU spring game