Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State sets date for spring football game

Published Mar. 4, 2016 2:23 p.m. ET

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Spring football drills for the Ohio State Buckeyes will kick off Tuesday, March 8, at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center on the campus of The Ohio State University. The first of these 14 practices, plus the LiFE Sports Spring Game, presented by Nationwide, April 16 in Ohio Stadium, signal the start of the fifth season at Ohio State for head coach Urban Meyer, and his 15th season overall as a head coach.

Meyer, who has the highest winning percentage -- .850; 154-27 -- among active coaches with at least 10 years of experience at a four-year school, will welcome one of the most inexperienced group of players he has had for a start of spring drills: 39 lettermen are on the roster, but only 35 of them lettered on last season's 12-1, Fiesta Bowl-winning team. Plus, only six starters return -- three on either side of the ball.

His previous four Ohio State teams returned 45, 38, 50 and 47 lettermen in 2015-14-13 and 2012, respectively, and they each returned double digit starters with 16, 12, 13 and 15 along the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

In his previous 10 years as coach at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, his teams have never had fewer than 38 returning lettermen or fewer than eight returning starters.

But this year he and his staff are realizing the attrition that comes with success, particularly through recruiting really well, winning championships and expertly developing talent. Five straight recruiting classes have been ranked among the Top 5 nationally. The Buckeyes won the 2014 national championship. And this year nine juniors -- most of them two-year starters and all key members of the championship run -- felt ready for the NFL and all nine were at the NFL Scouting Combine last week.

So that leaves a spring roster with nearly as many walk-ons on it as returning lettermen and a youthful foundation of 28 scholarship players with freshmen eligibility status. And 17 more freshmen will arrive in June.

Watch Inside Ohio State Athletics Saturday at 11:30 a.m. on FOX Sports Ohio.

It's no wonder why Meyer has called this upcoming season "the year of development."

It all starts Tuesday.

Spring practice dates

The Buckeyes will practice in the morning on the following dates on the indoor field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center:

March -- 8, 10, 22, 24, 26, 29 and 31

April -- 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15

LiFE Sports Spring Game

The 2016 LiFE Sports Spring Game, presented by Nationwide, will be Saturday, April 16 at Ohio Stadium. Start time is 1:30 p.m. with the Big Ten Network televising.

Spring game tickets $5

Tickets for the 2016 LifeSports Spring Game, presented by Nationwide, are priced at $5 for general admission. A limited number of reserved club seats are available for $15. A ticket will also admit fans into the "Showdown at the Shoe," the Ohio State men's lacrosse match against Michigan that will precede the spring game and start at 11 a.m.

Tickets can be purchased online at https://go.osu.edu/SpringGameTix16.

(Ohio State press release)