Ohio State had its second day of training camp on Friday. Once again, the Buckeyes were not in pads, so there was no tackling. That makes judgments difficult, particularly on run plays.

What does seem clear after only two practices is that the defense looks poised to build on its elite ranking last year. Even without a live pass rush, OSU's talented receivers have had difficulty finding much open space.

Cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Davison Igbinosun and safeties Caleb Downs and Lathan Ransom already look in sync.

“I'm good right now with what I've seen in two days,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said after practice about his defense. “The most important point to get across to our guys is that – Vince Lombardi said it best – we have to chase perfection. It's impossible, but you catch excellence in the process.

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“We can never be satisfied with just being good. We have the guys to really reach for perfection, and we've just got to keep pushing for that.”

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Here are other observations from Friday's practice.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard on target

Quarterback Will Howard looked sharp for the most part. He threw a nice short sideline pass to Reis Stocksdale in tight coverage and made a nice throw to Jeremiah Smith in tight coverage by Burke. Howard also threw a perfect pass for a completion to running back TreVeyon Henderson on a deep wheel route. Howard took the first snap in the initial 7-on-7 drill.

Ohio State quarterback Devin Brown goes deep

Devin Brown ended practice with a bang. He threw a perfectly placed deep ball to Bryson Rodgers in tight coverage on the last snap. Earlier, Brown connected on a deep ball to Smith over freshman cornerback Aaron Scott.

Offensive lineman Carson Hinzman returns

Center/guard Carson Hinzman participated in practice after missing Thursday with what coach Ryan Day said was an illness.

Defensive positions

At linebacker, Sonny Styles took more of the reps alongside Cody Simon than C.J. Hicks.

Defensive end Mitchell Melton had a nice play when he timed his leap and knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage from Air Noland.

Punters compete

In the open punter competition, Australians Joe McGuire, who's a sophomore, and freshman Nick McLarty took the first kicks in the first drill, followed by Anthony Venneri, a transfer from Buffalo.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football training camp observations: What we saw on defense