CHICAGO - After losing starters on both sides of the ball to the NFL, the Buckeyes are going to look a little different this season.

During Ryan Day’s Big Ten Media Day address, the new face of the Ohio State program spoke about the status of positional battles as well as the depth that the Buckeyes are blessed with this season.

While linebackers Pete Werner, Tuf Borland and Malik Harrison are expected to start this season, there are plenty of guys behind them that will receive significant playing time. One player Day spoke about pushing the starters is Teradja Mitchell.

"He had a good spring. He made some strides," Day said. "He's still learning the defense, diagnosing the plays, where to go in the pass game. He goes really hard, he's tough, he's a leader."

Regardless of who ends up starting, the result will be a deep group of linebackers that will help keep everyone fresh and keep opposing offenses on their toes.

“We have a lot of depth at linebacker, and with the new scheme, we actually have the ability to use different personnel groupings,” Day said. “We'll put five DB's in a game, we'll put three linebackers in a game and kind of mix that up.”

The possibilities for these different personnel groupings and depth within the secondary and linebacking corps allows Ohio State the opportunity to further experiment with the bullet position, which safety Brendon White had experience running last season.

“Al Washington has got his hands full,” Day said. “I talk to him all the time about you've got to figure out who's going to play, and it's a good thing.”

Another strength for Ohio State is in their tight end group. Luke Farrell will return as the starter, and behind him are Rashod Berry, Jeremy Ruckert, and Jake Hausmann.

“The tight end group right now is probably the most experienced group, and Luke Farrell came back and had a really good off-season,” Day said. “Rashod Berry has played for us, and then Jeremy Ruckert is looking to make a push right now, so there's battle right there with different skill sets.”

The biggest shift going into this season, however, will be on the offensive line. Ryan Day and Greg Studrawa have work to do to establish the starters in the offensive trenches.

Offensive tackle Thayer Munford is expected to be the sole returning starter. Other linemen such as Josh Myers, Wyatt Davis, and Branden Bowen did not start last season but still received the occasional minutes.

Additionally, guard Jonah Jackson transferred to Ohio State in February from Big Ten foe Rutgers. Jackson hasn’t taken the practice field yet for Ohio State, but his teammates and Day are excited to see him hit the field.

“He’s done a really good job. Learning the offense quickly, he’s done a good job with Mick. His body is in a good place, he’s learning at a good pace,” Day said. “He’s got experience. I think the guys up front like him, so it’ll be fun to see him practice.”

With no clear starters for the remaining positions, Day expects the O-line positional battle to last into fall camp.

“Finding that out in August is going to be fun to watch because Wyatt played good down the stretch but he still has to win that job,” Day said. “There are a bunch of guys vying for the right tackle, center and left guard positions.”