COLUMBUS – Ohio State held its Student Appreciation Day on Saturday for the first time since the spring of 2019.

Media members were given access to the Buckeyes’ eighth practice of spring ball in front of hundreds of Buckeyes students and fans of all ages and a loaded group of high-profile recruits.

Here are some key takeaways, highlights and other notes from an open window that lasted a little more than an hour:

Saturday’s practice could – and probably should – be taken with a grain of salt in terms of starting spots on both sides of the ball and what the two-deep depth chart looks like.

For one, there are a handful of players who remain unavailable for the spring, a list that includes running back Marcus Crowley, tight end/fullback Mitch Rossi and offensive lineman Josh Fryar who could each serve pivotal roles in the offense – plus defensive end Tyler Friday and Jantzen Dunn as notable defensive players who are out. Also, Gee Scott Jr. and Kamryn Babb were not participating at practice on Saturday while Josh Proctor remains limited as he works his way back from injury, and Kourt Williams also saw limited action on Saturday by being held out of team drills.

But the Buckeyes still opened up the viewing periods for Student Appreciation Day, as we got to see full 11-on-11 action and some 7-on-7 drills after previously only being allowed to watch individual drills in the three 45-minute viewing windows open to the media this spring.

In the final open practice leading up to the April 16 spring game, we got to see a good glimpse into what the Buckeyes’ starting offense and backups might look like come fall assuming health and progression.

C.J. Stroud and TreVeyon Henderson made up the starting backfield by getting all the first-team reps in 11-on-11, and there was no surprise with the offensive line that took all the first-team reps: Paris Johnson Jr. at left tackle, Matthew Jones at left guard, Luke Wypler at center, Donovan Jackson at right guard and Dawand Jones at right tackle.

Joe Royer and Cade Stover mixed in as the team’s tight ends taking first-team reps, but it was Royer who saw the field first in full-team action. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Julian Fleming were the starters at receiver, but Emeka Egbuka saw a heavy dose of first-team action as well.

Kyle McCord took most of the second-team reps at quarterback, but Devin Brown saw action as well. At running back, Miyan Williams and Evan Pryor split the action, while Egbuka, Jayden Ballard and Xavier Johnson – a running back who appears to be moving to receiver – saw the majority of the second-team reps. Bennett Christian played most of the second-team reps at tight end while Stover and Royer were splitting first-team action.

The offensive line looked like this: George Fitzpatrick at left tackle, Toby Wilson at left guard, Jakob James at center, Enokk Vimahi at right guard and Grant Toutant at right tackle.

The most intriguing of the players taking second-team reps was Donovan Jackson, who got some work at left tackle with the twos. Jackson, who played left tackle in high school while being the nation’s top-ranked offensive guard, spoke on Thursday about his capability of playing on the outside or at any other spot on the line. Though he was a little coy about whether or not he wants to play at a tackle spot or if he thinks his future will entail playing more at tackle.

“They said just be prepared. Be prepared to move where we need you to be. I said all right,” Jackson said of what the Buckeyes told him about what his position would be when recruiting him. “I think everyone on the line knows we could change positions at any point. And we should be able to run the ball or throw the ball at the same efficiency as we were in our original positions.”

As for the third-team reps, Ohio State trotted out quarterback Brown and running back Cayden Saunders, and freshman Kyion Grayes was the top third-team receiver as the Buckeyes rotated a group at the position.

The defensive was a little muddier in terms of a solidified starting 11 and in terms of a rotation – both at defensive line and linebacker. The secondary was more consistent in its players taking first- and second-team reps.

At outside cornerback, Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock were the starters (presumed starter Cameron Brown is still working his way back from injury and has been limited this spring) while Tanner McCalister was the first-team nickel cornerback. Ronnie Hickman and Bryson Shaw saw all the first-team reps at safety as Proctor and Williams were held out of 11-on-11 action.

The defensive line saw a heavy rotation with Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau as the starting defensive ends, and Zach Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste worked in behind them. On the interior, Taron Vincent and Jerron Cage saw action first while Mike Hall, Ty Hamilton and Tyleik Williams got the other first-team reps.

At linebacker, C.J. Hicks got onto the field with some first-team action, but it was Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg who saw the field first and got most of the reps with the ones. Hicks continues to look, physically and athletically, like a player who could earn important snaps as a true freshman.

Due to the heavy rotation in the front seven, it was harder to get a gauge of who was working in as first-teamers vs. who was working as second-teamers. From what we saw, though, Mitchell Melton was taking most of the second-team reps as a standup pass rusher, likely working in at the Jack position.

Caden Curry, Noah Potter and Jaden McKenzie logged most of the other reps as second-team defensive linemen. At linebacker, Chip Trayanum was the notable player seeing second-team action while he also worked in some reps as a first-teamer, and Gabe Powers earned second-team linebacker reps as well.

The secondary was once again where we got a bit more of a clear picture of who was taking second-team reps. At outside cornerback, Jakailin Johnson and Jyaire Brown saw all the action, and Marcus Hooker and Kye Stokes saw second-team action as the two-deep safeties. We did not spot Cameron Martinez at practice.

– Easily the best, most exciting play from today’s practice came right off the bat in 7-on-7 drills. Egbuka broke free down the field, hauling in an incredibly impressive one-handed catch while on the run, snagging the pass from Brown as he continued up the field.

– In red-zone work, Grayes was working on the third team when he broke toward the back left corner of the end zone and hauled in a slick over-the-shoulder touchdown catch from Brown. Grayes also had a terrific catch in 7-on-7, snagging a pass and tip-toeing the sidelines while getting both feet in bounds.

– Xavier Johnson broke free from Jakailin Johnson’s man coverage during the red-zone drill to haul in a two-handed touchdown catch on a back-shoulder throw in the corner of the end zone.

– Proctor is continuing to work his way back into a full-time capacity after suffering a broken leg in Week 2 last season. He was seen participating in individual drills for the first time at Tuesday’s open practice, and it appears he is taking some next steps in his progression. On Saturday, Proctor participated in 7-on-7 work and moved well while covering ground on out routes against Xavier Johnson and Sam Wiglusz.

– A large group of former Ohio State players flooded the building, including Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jeremy Ruckert as they prepare for the draft, and Cardale Jones and Tyquan Lewis were also on hand. So, too, was a large contingent of recruits. Check out our story previewing this weekend’s massive recruiting weekend for a full list of players who are visiting this weekend – most of those players listed were on hand at Saturday’s practice.

– Buckeyes coach Ryan Day ended the hour-long session with a passionate – though not over the top – speech to his players as fans surrounded the players’ huddle. He emphasized to his players to stay healthy and safe and that this team “has the chance to be really special.” He also gathered the students and fans together afterward to thank them “for being the best damn fans in the land.”