COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State's spring game Saturday is going to be an actual football game. It's just not expected to be pretty.
Urban Meyer knows this -- and the fourth-year Ohio State coach has planned accordingly.
So, Meyer and his staff and team are throwing what amounts to one final party celebrating last season's national title -- the trophy will be on display -- and mixing it with what will at least resemble a scrimmage featuring mostly young players who have seen very few previous reps inside Ohio Stadium.
This Ohio State team is stacked with young talent, so there will be plenty to see. But spring games are rarely beautiful, and with Ohio State short on proven offensive linemen and healthy quarterbacks, this one could be on the ugly side.
With so much of last year's team returning after a 15-game season that went until Jan. 12, it's been a light spring for some of Ohio State's most recognizable players. Meyer said Saturday's game will start with two series featuring most starters but that period won't feature full tackling.
"Our fans deserve to see the Joey Bosas and Taylor Deckers play," Meyer said Thursday.
The game will feature four 10-minute quarters. Cardale Jones and Stephen Collier will each quarterback one team, but Meyer isn't going to let Jones get hit, let alone hurt, so count Collier as one of many players who could end up playing for both sides.
To add a little spice to the day, Jones, J.T. Barrett and 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith will compete in a halftime quarterback competition. The actual quarterback competition will wait until August as Barrett has not yet been fully cleared after his November broken ankle and Braxton Miller has been rehabbing his shoulder injury from last August.
Sophomore wide receiver Noah Brown has had a big spring; Meyer said this week that as soon as he sees more from Brown in the classroom he'll be ready to list his name among the starting receivers heading into 2015.
"We're going to throw the ball a lot in the spring game," Meyer said.
That means plenty of throws for Collier, who redshirted last season as a true freshman early enrollee. In last year's spring game the passes by Barrett and Jones weren't all on target, but Barrett led Ohio State to 11 regular-season wins and set the Big Ten single-season touchdown record. Jones went 3-0 as the starter, helped Ohio State to the national championship, then he announced he was returning to school.
It's been a busy spring and winter. Eight listed starters and a handful of other key contributors from last year's team are gone, though, and this early 2015 roster is deeper and more talented than last year's.
One veteran back, Brionte Dunn, and one new back, redshirt freshman Parris Campbell, have drawn praise from Meyer this spring and should get plenty of touches Saturday. Ezekiel Elliott has been a limited participant all spring, and Meyer said he's going to limit sophomore speedster Curtis Samuel Saturday if he plays at all.
Among the other new names Meyer has mentioned throughout the spring are Gareon Conley, Sam Hubbard, Dante Booker, Jalyn Holmes and Chase Farris. Saturday's game is just one evaluation of 16 the Ohio State staff will have this spring, and it comes with added attention.
"The thing that spring games give you at a place like Ohio State is a crowd," Meyer said. "A lot of times you'll see a player that comes out (on the practice field) when no one's around and plays well and then he goes out in front of a crowd and locks up. And that's real.
"I can't say (the game) is going to be pleasant all the time, because you're going to have some young guys who aren't quite ready to play yet."
The spring game will start at approximately 1:45 p.m. ET; an Ohio State lacrosse game begins at 11 a.m. As of early in the week Ohio State had sold approximately 45,000 presale tickets at $5.
The Big Ten Network will televise it live.
The 2014 Buckeyes visit The White House next Monday to celebrate their title with President Barack Obama. A much louder last leg of the celebration tour -- this one at home -- comes Saturday afternoon.
