Ohio State's Top 5 position battles now that Justin Fields is set at QB

The biggest question at fall camp for the Ohio State Buckeyes was answered on Monday. New head coach Ryan Day, as most people expected, named Georgia transfer Justin Fields as the starting quarterback.

Fields, a former 5-star recruit who spent his 2018 freshman season in Athens, beat out Kentucky transfer Gunnar Hoak.

Most of the college football talk around Columbus on Monday, and rightly so, was about the athletic Fields — for instance, how often Day might let his dual-threat quarterback run during the 2019 season.

But now the attention will turn to some other spots, and there are plenty of position battles to watch as the Aug. 31 opener against Florida Atlantic draws near.

Here is our look at the top 5 position battles still remaining for the Buckeyes:

Offensive line

Left tackle Thayer Munford is the only returning starter on this unit. With all the concern about keeping Fields clean, and trying to get running back J.K. Dobbins back to his dominant 2017 form, it only makes sense that this might be the No. 1 area of concern for Scarlet and Gray fans. The Columbus Dispatch has reported that former 5-star recruit Nicholas Petit-Frere and Branden Bowen are locked in a tussle for the starting right tackle spot. Petit-Frere gained 30 pounds in the offseason to bulk up to 295.

Wide receiver

This is a very deep position. K.J. Hill is the top returning receiver from 2018 and was named one of seven team captains on Monday, so write his name in the lineup in ink. Binjimen Victor also seems like a pretty safe bet. Beyond that, Chris Olave had some huge performances late in the 2018 season as a freshman and should push for playing time, and Austin Mack will be prominent in the mix as well. And look for true freshman Garrett Wilson to make an impact sooner rather than later.

Defensive line

Chase Young is an absolute lock. Robert Landers should get plenty of time at defensive tackle as well, though Cleveland.com reported that Davon Hamilton might start ahead of him. Beyond that, Buckeyes fans should expect to see a lot of rotation at the other spots. The official Buckeyes roster lists 21 players at defensive end or defensive tackle including OSU’s top-rated recruit from the Class of 2019, DE Zach Harrison, so this is a very, very deep position.

Linebacker

All three starters from last season — Tuf Borland, Malik Harrison and Pete Werner — return to the team. Harrison, based on last year’s play, has to be the top dog on this unit. But the other two are facing stiff competition from, among others, Baron Browning and Teradja Mitchell. The Columbus Dispatch reported that defensive co-coordinator Greg Mattison, who is also coaching OSU’s linebackers along with Al Washington, had good things to say about several other linebackers and would not name starters yet.

Defensive back

An interesting wrinkle is that the defense is introducing the “Bullet” position this year, which is a hybrid linebacker/safety position similar to the “Viper” which Mattison and Washington oversaw last season when they were assistants at Michigan. OSU’s student newspaper, The Lantern, reported that it’s more or less going to be a safety who cheats into the box often, and that returning safety Brendon White is likely to get a long look at the position.