QB auditions take center stage in Ohio State spring practice UCLA’s Chip Kelly signs 2-year extension through 2027 season Kirby Smart says new 1st-down rule good start to shortening games

COLUMBUS, Ohio – two-year starter CJ Stroud going to the NFL in the draft next month, which means the Ohio State coach Ryan Day need to find a new quarterback for 2023.

With no apparent heir to Stroud, the quarterback derby is the overarching storyline of the Buckeyes’ open spring training on Tuesday.

A three-year reserve is participating in the race Kyle McCordwho in the first two seasons played little against the second year Devin Brown.

“I hope that one of them will appear, and we will be able to name the starting one (after spring practice). I really know,” Day said last month. “Given our momentum, it would be great if our program could do that.”

McCord of suburban Philadelphia was sweeping last season, completing 16 of 20 passes for 190 yards and touchdowns. In 2021, he got more playing time, even starting the game and throwing for 319 yards when Stroud sat out in the Akron rout.

Brown, who was coached by former Buckeye quarterback Joe Germain in high school in Utah, has yet to make a collegiate pass.

“Definitely a clean slate.” – Quarterback Coach Corey Dennis said about the competition. “I think the only difference is that the guys know what areas they want to work on, what they want to improve, and they want to move on. But no, absolutely. It’s a clean slate and spring will definitely be fun.”

For depth in position, Day took the pass Tristan Gebbia, who was a backup quarterback for Oregon. Aspiring coach Gebbia is expected to mentor young quarterbacks.

Day has a good track record in such situations. He faced a similar quarterback embarrassment in spring 2021 training.

Day used transfer services from Georgia Justin Fields, who became a standout player and starter in 2019 and 20. When Fields left for the NFL, candidates to replace him, Stroud and Jack Miller, played little, in part because the 2020 season was shortened due to the pandemic.

Stroud received an endorsement in 2021, broke school records and was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist. As a result, Miller moved on.

For all his accomplishments, Stroud couldn’t beat Michigan’s hated rival in two tries, so Day will be looking for someone who can. Despite losing to Michigan last season, Ohio State supported entry to the college football playoffs only to lose to eventual national champion Georgia 42-41 in a wild semi-final.

Regardless of who wins the job this time around, Ohio State will be full of elite offensive talent as usual.

“When you see the cast surrounding them, you can’t be more excited about being a college football quarterback,” Day said.

Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka And Julian Fleming will make up one of the best receiver groups in college football.

Veteran Runners TreVion Henderson And Soup Williams both are returning to split the carries after both were injured last season. tight end Cade StoverStroud’s key receiver also returns.

offensive line coach Justin Fry will start auditioning potential newcomers after losing the first three players from last year’s team. Victor Cutler, transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, will be in the mix right away.

The cornerback was a notable weakness for the Buckeyes last season due in part to injuries. They will hope Denzel Burke can play as he did in 2021, when he showed great promise as a freshman, but other veteran experience is lacking.

“What we need to do now is create competition. We need to open this topic, ”said cornerback coach Tim Walton. “Let the guys go to work, go to play and compete. That’s what it’s all about.”

The Buckeyes will see for the first time a Syracuse transfer of J’Had Carter, who could get a starting spot in the safety net after leading the Orangeman in losses last season.

The Buckeyes will have 15 practice sessions culminating in their annual spring game on April 15th.

ANGELS – Chip Kelly has signed a two-year contract extension with UCLA, under which he will extend his contract until 2027.

The Bruins were 8-4 last year and ranked 21st in the final Associated Press Top 25 poll, the first time they were ranked at the end of the season since 2014.

“I am delighted with our football program under Coach Kelly and his talented staff,” said the athletic director. Martin Jarmond says in the statement. “The football program is on the rise, both on the field and in the classroom. Coach Kelly and his staff have done a great job of developing the boys, as evidenced by their academic success.”

Kelly has five seasons at Westwood 27-29 and the last two years 16-8. He took over after Jim Mora Jr. was fired in 2017, and in its first two seasons, its roster was mostly filled with juniors.

The Bruins were 3-9 in Kelly’s first year in 2018 and 4-8 the following season. In the shortened 2020 season, the turnaround started at 3-4.

Kelly, 72-36, signed a four-year contract as a college coach last year.

UCLA will enter its final Pac-12 season with a lot of questions. The Bruins were fifth in the nation in total assaults, but the quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson finished and running back Zach Charbonnet went early to the NFL Draft.

Kelly will also have a third defensive coordinator in as many seasons after hiring D’Anton Lynn.

Georgian coach Kirby Smart says the proposed changes to the clock rules shouldn’t significantly affect next season’s games, but he called them a good first step towards reducing the number of games in the name of player health and safety.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee has approved a proposal to keep the clock running when a team makes their first try, except in the last two minutes of a half. Since 1968, the clock has been stopped at the first down until the referee signals ready to play.

The committee put forward two other proposals for the continuation of the games. It would be possible to introduce penalties taken at the end of the first and third quarters, enforced at the beginning of the next quarter, rather than an untimely down. The other makes it impossible for a coach to call consecutive time-outs during the same dead ball period.

“We think the changes here will be minimal,” said Smart, co-chair of the committee. “You could say, ‘Why did you change that at all? It will flow better.”

The committee did not take seriously the proposal to keep the clock running after an incomplete passage.

The proposed changes will go into effect for the 2023 season if approved by the NCAA Rules of the Game Commission on April 20.

Steve Shaw, secretary-editor of the NCAA rules and national officials coordinator, said the rules committee has taken a conservative approach to start the process of cutting games.

With the college football playoffs expanding from four to 12 teams in 2024–2025 and possibly more in the future, conference commissioners asked the committee to find ways to reduce the number of games played in an attempt to mitigate potential injuries. impact.

Shaw said the new first-down clock rule would take about eight games out of the game, which would be about 96 fewer games during the regular season and more for teams that play bowls and playoffs.

The NFL timed first downs throughout the game, and Shaw said the retention of the old rule that the last two minutes before halftime represented a “beautiful difference” between pro games and college games.

“The last two minutes are critical,” Shaw said. “Stopping the clock gives the teams a chance to bounce back. Everyone on the committee was determined: we’re not going straight to NFL rules.”

The committee approved the optional use of instant replay in games that do not have an official replay representative. This would allow the referee to use the available video to make decisions on games to be watched after the coach has been called.

Additionally, with a few exceptions, drones will not fly over the playing surface or over the team area when teams are on the field.