Back-to-School – August 22, 2023

CAMPUS

Board of trustees approves tuition increase for incoming freshmen and out-of-state students

BRETT

PRICE, MEGHAN BEERY AND KATE SHIELDS

Lantern Editors price.1422@osu.edu beery.156@osu.edu shields.323@osu.edu

Last month, just a few weeks before students began to arrive on campus, the University Board of Trustees approved a raise in tuition and fees for both Ohio State’s incoming freshman class, and and all out-of-state undergraduate students.

According to public meeting materials, the 3 percent increase for freshmen is set to cost Ohio residents around $12,859 a year for tuition and fees, resulting in a near $374 change. Ohio law mandates a maximum undergraduate tuition fee increase of 3 percent for incoming instate undergraduates.

New and returning non-Ohio residents will see a more notable increase at 5.2 percent, set to cost around $38,365 a year for tuition and fees. This makes Ohio State the seventh most affordable university in the Big Ten for in-state and out-of-state undergraduates.

During a board of trustees meeting Thursday, Michael Papadakis, senior vice president of business and finance and chief financial officer for the university, said the in-state freshmen who got a 3 percent increase are locked in at that number for four years due to the Ohio State Tuition Guarantee, but that is not the case for out-of-state students.

“Out-of-state students actually got a 5 1/2 percent increase for undergrad, and so those folks will kick in here in their freshman year as well,” Papadakis said. “And then any out-of-state students who are with us again are not a part of the tuition guarantee, so those folks also see the same 5 1/2 percent increase.”

This is the seventh consecutive year the university has increased the cost attendance, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

According to presented documents, the raise in tuition and fees account

for about 57 million dollars in the university’s budget for fiscal year 2024.

“Again, we continue to be very, very focused on access and affordability,” Papadakis said. “And again, we believe that [Ohio State’s] tuition is, again, very competitive in the marketplace and significantly lower than many of our peers across the country.”

Some of the increase — 0.4 percent —in undergraduate tuition will go to “investments in student wellness and mental health services,” according to public meeting materials.

The investments will expand peerto-peer mentoring, educational programming, mental health awareness and response training, and suicide prevention and screening programs,

according to a release.

Graduate student tuition, which is not protected under the Tuition Guarantee Program, is also increasing. Both online and in-person programs will see a 3.8 percent rise for both new and returning graduate and professional students.

Tom Mitevski, chair of the Finance & Investment Committee, said the committee worked for several months to balance the financial implications, accessibility and future potential of the cost increases.

“Inflation has been increasing over 7 percent the last couple years, and so we want to make sure this is affordable and competitive and at the same time allows us to invest and reinvest,” Mitevski said.

Dive into the descisions made by Ohio State’s board of trustees last week.

The board of trustees met July 14 and Thursday to discuss an increase in tuition and fees.

Recapping last week’s board of trustees meetings

BRETT PRICE, MEGHAN BEERY, KATE SHIELDS AND JOSIE STEWART

Lantern Editors

price.1422@osu.edu

beery.156@osu.edu shields.323@osu.edu stewart.2117@osu.edu

Wexner Medical Center Board: Tuesday

For the 31st consecutive year, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center was recognized among the best U.S. hospitals via the U.S. News Best Hospitals report and was named the second-best hospital in the state of Ohio.

David E. Cohn, interim CEO of the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, then introduced new leaders in The James Cancer Program and reviewed The James nursing accomplishments, including 26 ongoing and two new nursing studies.

The Wexner Medical Center Board then reviewed its statement of operations for the 2023 fiscal year.

Talent, Compensation and Governance Committee: Wednesday

At the Talent, Compensation and Governance Committee meeting, Joshua Kerner was officially appointed as the undergraduate student trustee and Taylor Schwein was officially appointed as the graduate student trustee.

Amendments were made to the Wexner Medical Center Board bylaws including a resolution on “Ohio State’s philosophy on statements” regarding statements by the university as an institution, John Zeiger, chair of the Talent, Compensation and Governance Committee, said. The resolution passed unanimously by a voice vote.

Legal, Audit, Risk & Compliance

Committee: Wednesday Chris Glaros, associate vice president for compliance operations and investigations in the Office of University Compliance and Integrity, discussed the top issues reported to hotlines in the 2023 fiscal year. The largest amount of these concerns — 37 percent — were with discrimination, followed by sexual misconduct at 28 percent, according to their reports.

From the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the university saw a 32 percent increase in employee matters. Across the same period, there was a decrease in HIPAA concerns and in anonymous complaints.

The Office of Government Affairs, which acts as a liaison between the university and the government in both Ohio and Washington, D.C., discussed its priorities with the board from the past year along with potential upcoming concerns.

At the federal level, much of the work the team shared with the board concerned funding; name, image, and likeness; and the Farm Bill, which deals with a variety of food and agricultural programs and is up for reauthorization this year.

At the state level, funding is also a focus in addition to legislation like Senate Bill 83 and House Bill 153, the Enact Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act in both chambers, and Senate Bill 117, which would establish the Salmon P. Chase Center within the John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

Academic Affairs & Student Life Committee: Wednesday

The Academic Affairs & Student Life Committee spoke about receiving an ADVANCE Grant from the National Science Foundation in conjunction with Michigan State and Wayne State, which is aimed toward increasing the representation of women in academic

science and engineering careers, according to the slides shared at the meeting. The university’s work will focus on “leadership, culture, and developing faculty across the lifecycle.”

Given the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, the Office of Academic Affairs and Office of Legal Affairs created a group to prepare the university for changes, Executive Vice President and Provost Melissa Gilliam, said.

The university removed race/ethnicity from documents seen by those reading applications and will hold training over the next academic year.

Additionally, Gilliam said they are using a multi-modal approach to help with student wellness, focusing on peer-to-peer support, referrals, resources, counseling and workshops.

Master Planning & Facilities Committee: Thursday

In the project status report, Mark Conselyea, vice president of Facilities Operations and Development, said the James Outpatient Care, Arts District, Jane E. Heminger Hall and Newton Renovation are all completed, while the next project on the agenda is the Energy Advancement and Innovation Center, which is expected to be completed by October.

Aparna Dial, senior director of Facilities Management and Sustainability, gave a resource stewardship update where she explained that in 2022, Ohio State was 30 percent lower in emissions than FY 2015, the year in which these initiatives were implemented.

“Our most ambitious goal is our carbon neutrality goal. As you’re aware, as you just mentioned, we track and report those emissions on an annual basis,” Dial said.

Ohio State’s water usage has also

decreased, as the university was 35 percent lower, per campus user, in 2022 than it was in 2015, Dial said.

Finance & Investment Committee: Thursday

According to presented documents, operating revenues increased by $808 million in FY 2023 compared to FY 2022 due to healthcare revenue growth, increased tuition and fees, increases in major auxiliary enterprises, as well as higher grant and contract revenues.

Healthcare revenues accounted for a $533 million increase, while grants and contracts accounted for $93 million. An increase in tuition and fees yielded $57 million, and $48 million came from increased auxiliary revenues, according to presented documents.

Research, Innovation & Strategic Partnerships Committee: Thursday

Peter Mohler, head of the committee, said $12 million will be awarded to the study of therapies for gestational diabetes and $22 million will be awarded to accelerate gene editing for treating Huntington’s Disease and ALS.

Mohler said the engineering spinoff received Food and Drug Administration approval for heart surgery software and the arts and sciences spinoff startup exited stealth mode and raised $90 million for clean hydrogen technology.

At the full board meeting, Gilliam announced the Distinguished University Professors, including Stanley Lemeshow of the College of Public Health, Stuart Cooper of the College of Engineering and Elena Irwin of the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

The committee meeting ended with the approval of FY 2024.

Researchers partake in outreach initivatives, Student Wellness Center plans for Overdose Awareness Day

JOSIE STEWART AND KATE SHIELDS Lantern Editors

stewart.2117@osu.edu

shields.323@osu.edu

Aug. 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day, and many at Ohio State are working to prepare students for unexpected situations.

Tara Crawford — the community engagement organizer in Franklin County for the HEALing Communities Study, which aims to reduce opioid overdose deaths across multiple states — is working to spread awareness through events and training across campus. Starting Aug. 31 and carrying on, students will be able to learn more about lifesaving care and recovery

around overdoses.

“Our goal is to just let people know that naloxone is available, it’s safe to administer and just basically how to get it and how to use it, just in case, because fentanyl is finding its way into lots of other kinds of drugs,” Crawford said.

Crawford said a major concern with students using recreational drugs is that they can be laced with fentanyl, and if the user has no tolerance for the opioid, it can be deadly.

Crawford’s team is currently working on installing a vending machine for naloxone, a medicine that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose. She said they are hoping to have it installed by

early September, but in the meantime, students can use “NaloxBoxes” around campus, which were installed in conjunction with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and the Alcohol, Drug, and Mental Health Board of Franklin County.

A full list of the “NaloxBox” locations across campus can be found on the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes website.

Crawford said the vending machine will include other harm reduction items for free in addition to naloxone and was made possible by the HEALing Communities Study and the College of Medicine Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pharmacy.

Crawford said one of the reasons college students were selected was a fatal overdose that occurred at Ohio State last May.

“I think there’s a small amount of awareness about the presence [of opiates], but I don’t think people know about carrying naloxone as a means

of protecting other people’s lives,” Crawford said.

The university’s student wellness team is offering two events, #Weseeyou: Let’s Give a Hand!, and “Carry Naloxone. Save a Life” on Aug. 31, as well as several other events Sept. 1- Sept. 8. The first event is meant to inform Ohio State’s community about Overdose Awareness Day and the second provides training on the signs of an opioid overdose.

Additional events include “Celebrate Recovery with Buckeye Paws” on Tuesday, Sept. 5, and “OUAB Wellness Wednesday - Recovery is Spoken Here: Recovery Ally Training” on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

While the first “Carry Naloxone. Save a Life” training session is Aug. 31, five more sessions will be offered this fall.

“We want people to know that [naloxone] is out there and you know, a neighbor might need it,” Crawford said.

Naloxone, an overdose reversal medicine, is available in multiple places across campus including an upcoming vending machine.

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

ARTS&LIFE

How

Columbus’ Fiery Foods Fest returns

SAMANTHA HARDEN Lantern Reporter harden.546@osu.edu

The spiciest festival in central Ohio is returning for another year.

The Fiery Foods Fest — hosted by Columbus-based event firm MGN and popular radio station CD 92.9 FM — will be held at Genoa Park along the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and 12-6 p.m., Sunday.

The event, known for exploring the spicy side of Columbus’ restaurants, hot sauces and salsa vendors, has made one major change for this year’s event: This year, according to the event’s website, the festival includes free admission for everyone.

Mike Gallicchio, the event’s producer, said organizers decided to waive the event’s usual $5 admission fee in hopes of having as many attendees as possible.

“The festival supports over 70 small businesses,” Gallicchio said. “We want them all to do as well as possible.”

Gallicchio said the event includes live music, food trucks, hot and spicy food contests — like Mikey’s Late Night Slice hot pizza eating contest — and a large variety of hot sauce tastings.

Sauce Boss Gang — a female-founded, -owned and -operated hot sauce company — will be participating in the festival for the second year in a row. Nicole DiTommaso, the founder and owner of Sauce Boss Gang, said it has been an amazing experience getting to

be one of the main sponsors for the event.

“When we were approached by Mike [Gallicchio] to become a sponsor, we jumped at the chance to collaborate with industry leaders we look up to,” DiTommaso said. “We are grateful that he chose us to add some girlboss energy to the event.”

DiTommaso said Sauce Boss Gang will have a tent at the festival, sampling and selling their full collection of hot

sauce flavors.

“The exciting part is that we are dropping our two new spices at the fest,” DiTommaso said. “Volcanic Kiss is a roasted garlic, crushed habanero and red volcano sea salt blend and Churro Kiss, which is a churro sugar.”

DiTommaso said the most exciting part of this year’s event is that it is free for the community.

“The support has grown tremendously

within the last year,” DiTommaso said. “We are all excited to be able to provide the community with a free family-friendly event.”

Along with Sauce Boss Gang, Gallicchio said there will be 67 total vendors at the event, including Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce, Sauce Goddess and Goodwood Brewing and Spirits.

For more information about the 2023 Fiery Foods Fest, visit their website.

clique culture can play a role in Buckeyes’ college experience

COURTESY OF COLUMBUS FIERY FOODS FESTIVAL

Hot sauce samples are passed out to attendees at the 2022 Fiery Foods Festival, a tradition that will be honored again this year.

Clique-ing into place: Finding your footing in the college social scene and expanding friendships

EMMA WOZNIAK Asst. Arts & Life Editor wozniak.82@osu.edu

Nerds. Jocks. Theater kids. In high school, cliques seem inevitable. But college seemingly holds the promise of a fresh start, an opportunity to explore one’s identity without the consequences of a ruthless social hierarchy.

In his dissertation on how university students develop a sense of belonging within their schools, Ohio State graduate Erick Axxe said his research concluded there is no lack of cliques in the university setting when compared to high schools. But that doesn’t mean incoming students should fear for their social lives as they embark on their college journeys.

“When I think of a clique, I think of a group of individuals with a shared interest,” Axxe said. “And oftentimes in high school settings, we think of these as being status-oriented. So they perceive each other as a hierarchy against one another.”

Though Axxe earned his Ph.D. in sociology in 2023, he began his research study in 2018, where he and his team studied one cohort of students attending a “large, predominantly white institution in the Midwest.” The team conducted interviews and surveys over the course of the cohort’s fouryear college careers and finished the final year of data collection two years ago.

Axxe said his dissertation revealed cliques are prevalent in both high school and college settings, though there is one primary distinction between cliques in the two environments: the exposure these groups have to one another.

“In high school, oftentimes, you’ll have people of different interests, or perhaps different identities, in close contact

with one another,” Axxe said. “In higher education, that’s not quite the case. It’s quite easy for these groups to silo and not be exposed to one another as frequently. And then that way, the status hierarchies might not develop as or might not be as salient as they are in the high school setting.”

Axxe said cliques in the college setting are different due to the greater sense of separation the groups have from one another, despite existing within the same institution.

“We can think of a high school cafeteria as a great example. All of these different cliques, so to speak, are going to be sharing that same space and they have to negotiate that space with one another,” Axxe said. “Whereas when we think about a large university — maybe if we think about an athlete clique — athletes tend to have their own space on campus.”

Maria Antonius, a 2023 Ohio State graduate with degrees in biochemistry and Spanish, said her high school social life revolved largely around her swim team, as many friend groups within her school were divided based on the sport in which students were involved.

“I feel like at that point, it was very, those are the people that you hang out with all the time,” Antonius said. “You don’t really have individual friends or as many of them as much as like, groups of friends, and I do feel like it kind of limited, like, social interactions outside of your group a lot.”

Axxe said cliques can often serve a double function, with potentially both positive and detrimental effects. Although they often act to reinforce differences, Axxe said cliques may also help to protect the individuals who exist within them.

Upon acknowledging some of her own

friend groups as cliques in their own right, Antonius agreed.

“I feel like the word clique in and of itself is stereotypically negative, it feels, like, gossipy almost,” Antonius said. “I feel like in college, it’s more I guess, in my experience, I surround myself with people who kind of uplift me in different ways. And I feel like it’s nice because everyone is kind of just rooting for you to be your best individual self in whatever way, shape and form that is.”

Antonius said she found friendship at Ohio State in a variety of ways: dorm room neighbors, coworkers at on-campus coffee shop Connecting Grounds and even undergraduate research peers. Though she said she values each of those friend groups, Antonius said she also encourages students to always be open to meeting new people.

“There’s so many other people out

there, too,” Antonius said. “So the more that you try, the more people you meet, I feel like a lot of times you end up figuring out that you just want to be friends with the people that you aspire to be like and you want to surround yourself with those people.”

Axxe — and his research findings — agreed.

“While reading through the data, the people who tended to fare best were those who intentionally made an effort to try to develop new connections with people,” Axxe said. “Those students who tried to break out of their immediate circle and put themselves in situations where they had the opportunity to escape the clique that they might default to, they tended to fare better because they had more opportunity to meet others who might share new perspectives, or maybe, you know, introduce them to new opportunities.”

ZACHARY RILLEY FORMER PHOTO EDITOR

Ohio State’s 2022 Student Involvement Fair. Students gather to scope out all the organizations and social opportunities Ohio State has to offer.

What’s Up: 2023-24 Welcome Week Events

EMMA WOZNIAK Asst. Arts & Life Editor wozniak.82@osu.edu

As campus is flooded with the hustle and bustle of incoming and returning Buckeyes alike, many students may be in search of a reprieve from their unpacking and class mapping. Luckily for these students, Welcome Week — beginning Aug. 20 — presents a wide range of events, concerts and festivals to students eager to immerse themselves in Buckeye culture.

AUGUST 22

• APIDA Welcome and Showcase (Free)

Connect with the Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi-American community through this free event — which welcomes both APIDA students and allies — hosted by the Center for Belonging and Social Change and the Asian American Association. Whether in pursuit of new student organizations to join or simply a place to meet new people, the 4-9 p.m., event promises an inclusive environment plus performances by the student community.

• Columbus Clippers vs. Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp ($6-21)

Huntington Park will host the Clippers and the Jumbo Shrimp several evenings this week, with varying game highlights such as “Tansky Tuesday Dime-A-Dog Night” for 10-cent hot dogs or “$5 FRIDAY!!!” for discounted beer, wine and pizza.

AUGUST 23

• Native American and Indigenous Welcome Gathering (Free)

In partnership with the Native American Indigenous Peoples Cohort, the Center for Belonging and Social Change is welcoming all Native American and Indigenous students and allies to the Ohio Union’s Alonso Family Room from 4-6 p.m., to foster student connections and offer assistance in adjusting to the upcoming school year.

AUGUST 24

• Latinx Welcome Cookout (Free)

Latinx students and allies are encouraged to stop by the Ohio Union’s Potter Plaza from 4-6 p.m., for this social mixer hosted by the Center for Belonging and Social Change and the University-wide Council of Latinx Organizations, also known as UCLO. Light refreshments will be offered.

• Pearl Market (Free)

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., until mid-October, Gay and Pearl streets transform into a farmers’ market, where fresh food and other local goods are sold to passersby.

COURTESY OF CENTER FOR BELONGING AND SOCIAL CHANGE

AUGUST 25

• African American Family Affair and Reunion (Free)

The Center for Belonging and Social Change and the Undergraduate Black Student Leaders are working together to provide an evening of music, food and fun to all Black students and allies in the Ohio Union’s Performance Hall from 5-7 p.m.

• WonderBus Music & Arts Festival ($50-99 per ticket)

There are few places in Columbus where you can hear the electronic, reggae and rap music of artists like Pitbull, Sean Kingston and Big Freedia within one venue; luckily, WonderBus is one of these local rarities. Be sure to check out Ohio State’s Discount Ticket Program’s website for significantly discounted tickets, including both one-day and three-day passes.

• Short North Walking Tour ($68)

Columbus Food Adventures offers the chance to indulge in some of the Short North’s “culinary delights” via this 1-mile tour. For Ohio State families looking to familiarize themselves with the area or food lovers, this six-stop, food-filled tour may be the perfect way to spend the day.

AUGUST 26

• WonderBus Music & Arts Festival ($50-99 per ticket)

See Demi Lovato, Oliver Tree and Surfaces during day two of the festival, which promises more big names taking the stage, plus food trucks and other culinary vendors.

• Columbus Crew vs. Toronto ($30-330)

See Columbus’ Major League Soccer team take the Lower.com Field against Toronto FC starting at 7:30 p.m.

AUGUST 27

• WonderBus Music & Arts Festival ($50-99 per ticket)

CAAMP, Portugal. The Man and Brittany Howard are headlining the final day of the festival, where Columbus-originated band CAAMP will be adding another major festival performance to their list, which already includes Firefly, Shaky Knees, Austin City Limits and more.

COURTESY OF MACKENZIE SHANKLIN

COURTESY OF JOHN MCCALL

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McCord, Brown still competing for starting QB position

What back-to-school looks like for student-athletes

LAURYN LUDERMAN Sports Editor luderman.4@osu.edu

This year, women’s volleyball’s Rylee Rader will hold up a sign that says “First Day of Fourteenth Grade” and send it to her mom.

Believe it or not, athletes share the same daunting first-day experiences with the expectation of taking a photo in front of their college house and sharing it with their family group chat.

“Growing up, my mom was all about getting first day of school pictures in the morning before she drove me to school, and I still continue that tradition,” Rader said.

Zed Key, Emily Londot and Kailyn Dudukovich said they also continue those traditions from primary school, be it by themselves or with their roommates.

Key, men’s basketball senior small forward, said he keeps things simple when it comes to his back-to-school outfit.

“It’s nothing crazy. I just want to be comfortable. We have guys on the team that will sit there for three hours trying to find a perfect outfit,” Key said. “[An] Ohio State shirt, shorts and some dunks for me.”

For Londot, maybe some volleyball gear. The senior said she likes to be comfortable on the first day — a simple pair of sneakers, shorts and a light jacket will do the trick.

With practices nearly every day, Key, Rader and Londot tend to carry around a bite to eat. Key said he usually gets hungry during class, while Rader packs a snack just in case.

“[I like to have] my iPad and computer, so I can follow along with my lectures and take notes during class. Another important essential is my headphones so I can listen to music while walking to and from class,” Rader said. “I will always have my water bottle with me to stay hydrated during the day so I’m ready for practice in the afternoon. I will also carry around a snack in case I get hungry.”

Makenna Webster, a dual-sport athlete on both women’s ice and field hockey teams, said where you find her, you’ll find her bookbag. She has the usual electronics and water bottle, but also a pencil case full of daily necessities and tools to assist her in taking organized notes.

“I find it easier to follow along in class while typing on my computer. I also find it much easier to keep all my classwork organized on my laptop,” Webster said. “I tend to make my notes colored, bolded and highlighted to make it easier to find the information I need.”

Londot likes color coordination, as well. She said she can type faster than she can write, so typed notes are her go-to, but she begins with no color or glamour and adds that part in later.

Being a student-athlete comes with its challenges. Whether they made the gamewinning goal the night before or simply put, their distinct Ohio State athlete bookbag points them out in a crowd, deciding where to sit is always an anxiety-riddled thought on the first day back.

Women’s soccer’s junior forward Dudukovich said she picks a spot where she can be fully involved but is strategic with it.

“I tend to pick a seat that is towards the

front of the room, but not the very front so I don’t feel like all the attention is on me, but I still feel engaged and can see,” Dudukovich said.

Key said his height plays a factor in where he chooses to sit.

“I sit in the middle of the class,” Key said. “The front I’m too tall for, and sometimes my legs be tripping the teacher.”

Rader and Webster said they don’t prefer a seat in the front, back or middle, but consider who they sit by. They typically seek out a student-athlete they know but

are always open to making new friends. “Since I am a sport industry major, most of my classes are about sports, so they are fun and entertaining to be in,” Rader said. “I will even have a teammate or friend from a different sports team already in my classes to sit by, but if not, it is always fun to make a new friend.”

Fall sports are beginning and school is back in session, so go to class, make a friend and watch a game, because maybe that star player will be your new math partner.

Rylee Rader (20) prepares to serve the ball against Nebraska Nov. 13, 2022.

Football: Competition for starting quarterback still remains undecided

JAYLA VANHORN Asst. Sports Editor vanhorn.110@osu.edu

After months of uncertainty surrounding who Ohio State’s starting quarterback will be for the 2023-24 season, the questions continue to loom.

Head coach Ryan Day said the battle between junior Kyle McCord and sophomore Devin Brown will carry into next week in a press conference Monday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

“There’s been times over this camp where I felt like one was going to take over, and the other one came back,” Day said. “It was like a horse race, and it kept pulling, pulling away, and then the other one would catch up.”

For months, a back-and-forth contest has ensued between McCord and Brown. Day said both players have improved pocket presence and timing passes, but the gap isn’t large.

Day said the coaching staff agrees. After the second scrimmage Saturday, Day said he took a straw poll, and the results were almost evenly split. He said he met with both quarterbacks, and they concurred that neither one is that much further ahead.

If the gap remains narrow, Day said there’s a high chance McCord and Brown will both play in the opening game against Indiana Sept. 2.

“I’ve been in situations — not very many — where you don’t have a quarterback, and that’s not a good feeling,” Day said.

“We’re going to have a quarterback, and we may have two, and if they deserve to play, they’re going to play.”

Day said they’ve had more reps than anybody else in camp, and the staff is confident in both quarterbacks heading into the season. Even with the more experienced McCord, Day said he’s not surprised by the tight competition.

“You want the guy that’s the leader, the guy that’s leading men into the end zone,” Day

said. “On third-and-long, or you’re backed up, or after a bad play, or you’re down by a score, [they] can rally the team or can find a way to go dive in the end zone on fourth down.”

Day said both will be good players, no matter the outcome, but in the end, the better leader, decision-maker and competitor will secure the position.

“Ultimately, we have to do what’s best for Ohio State,” Day said.

ZACHARY RILLEY | LANTERN FILE PHOTO

Sophomore quarterback Devin Brown works on handoffs during Ohio State’s first open spring practice March 7.

KATIE GOOD | LANTERN FILE PHOTO

Junior quarterback Kyle McCord takes the field prior to the Ohio State spring game April 15.

Football: Fryar secures guard position, two o ensive line spots remain

JAYLA VANHORN Asst. Sports Editor vanhorn.110@osu.edu

The return of Buckeye football is just under two weeks away.

As the clock ticks down, so does Ohio State’s coaching staff’s decision to solidify their offensive line.

Only two positions still need to be fulfilled after head coach Ryan Day named senior Josh Fryar the starting right tackle Monday during his press conference.

“In a situation where we felt like we were thin on the offensive line, you turn around after a few months, and we feel like we have some decent depth,” Day said.

Junior Donovan Jackson and graduate Matthew Jones, both experienced linemen and long-standing program members, have maintained their left and right guard roles. And with Fryar beating out true freshman Luke Montgomery, left tackle and center positions are still up for grabs.

Josh Simmons, a transfer from San Diego State, is a frontrunner for the left side. Offensive line coach Justin Frye spoke highly of the student-athlete in a press conference Aug. 14.

Frye said he heavily recruited Simmons in high school when he coached at UCLA. So far, the four-star recruit has made an immediate impact, despite never playing left tackle until fall camp.

“This is like an NFL factory, so I understand that the opportunity here was to get developed by coach Frye and the best coaching staff in the country, and I was going to take it,” Simmons said.

Frye said he believes Simmon’s maturity and prior college football experience have made this switch much easier. He said it also separates him from younger players

who may find adapting to the game’s speed challenging.

Frye said Simmons is still learning, but his willingness to buy into the program has been the easiest transition.

“He’s bought into the room,” Frye said. “He’s bought into the culture. He’s around the guys. He works the way you’re supposed to. He’s still learning to work some of the ways that he needs to, and he’s around a room of guys who know how to do that.”

There’s also a two-man battle between sophomore Carson Hinzman and graduate Victor Cutler Jr. at the center position. Day said Hinzman is a touch ahead of Cutler, but they’ll continue to evaluate both players and Jones in the coming weeks.

“Jones has had a really good camp, probably the best football he’s been playing,” Day said.

Hinzman said he’s learned to be physically and mentally tough, which has helped him grow into the player he is now. He believes he’s exceeded his expectations, especially compared to where he was last year.

“I’ve probably gotten through thousands and thousands of snaps just trying to get it down,” Hinzman said. “Now I’m trying to build a little bit more of a routine when I get down. So a lot of learning, but it’s the place we’re at, you know, you got to swim or drown.”

Frye said they’re getting closer to building their team chemistry, communication and continuity with each practice. Decisions regarding the remaining two positions will continue to be made in the following weeks as the first game approaches, he said.

“We’re evaluating and grading every snap of every guy so that when we take the ball against Indiana, we’re playing our five, six, seven, eight best, whoever that may be,” Frye said.

LAURYN LUDERMAN | SPORTS EDITOR

Senior offensive lineman Josh Fryar talks to the media after practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center Aug. 15.