There were some things that were expected and some disappointments as well in the first look at the Ohio Force Training Camp. First off, the excitement of this offense in action with Mitch Browning as the offensive coordinator and Ohio State legend Bill Conley coaching this team was semi-fulfilling. The offense was expected to look like a true Big Ten offense. A heavy rushing attack and a conservative passing game. It looked just like that with rushes up the middle and rollout play-action passes.
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DeMario McCall
The man that impressed the most for the Ohio Force was tailback Demario McCall, number 29. McCall gained no less than five yards a carry and caught a long third down conversion to keep the drive alive. He was Mr. Everything in this first look at the Ohio Force training camp and scrimmage. This water bug of a back is a true multi-dimensional ball-carrier. He’s already shown that he will be the go-to guy for this offense. Christian Turner shared carries with McCall and impressed as well. The running game was simple and superb. Tiring out the opposing defense and keeping the chains moving. The passing game however was a different story.
Ohio Force Training Camp Quarterbacks
Among the three quarterbacks the Ohio Force played in the scrimmage, the one that showed the most promise was Nick Watson. The only time the offense drove inside the ten-yard line was the final possession when Nick Watson was calling the shots. Their best drive of the day could’ve been capped off by a simple run play for a touchdown. But instead, three pass plays in a row resulted in incompletions. Other than that, Nick Watson was the most accurate quarterback on the team.
The other two quarterbacks, Cody Wilstead and Connor Kaegi, didn’t have the kind of day they wanted. Each of them threw interceptions and only three completions were made between the two. Neither of them looked efficient at all.
Defense
The Force’s defense was manhandled and outplayed by the Virginia Armada offense. Virginia’s running game moved the ball down the field easily and the linebackers were quite soft, allowing too many big yard gains. The front four were decent by adding pressure to the quarterback and stuffing the run at times. However, the secondary might be the biggest issue with the Ohio Force. Virginia’s wideouts were left open the whole game and blown coverage eventually permitted a late deep touchdown pass down the right sidelines for an easy score.
Overall, there were some bright spots and some improvements seen. Tackling from the defense needs to be improved and most of all, toughness needs to be installed. The running game was effective, and the passing game will be in good hands with Nick Watson if he wins the starting job. Play calling is still expected to become more dimensional as the Ohio Force training camp goes on, but this was just a scrimmage and a sneak peek of what we will see with the Ohio Force.
