COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio State Buckeyes began spring football practice Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

Coach Ryan Day talked about the Buckeyes first practice of the 2023 season in a Tuesday morning news conference. You can watch his press conference in the video player above.

Day said the biggest thing he’s looking for in the quarterback battle between Kyle McCord and Devin Brown is leadership and an ability to do routine plays consistently without trying to do too much.

The biggest takeaways from the 30-minute media viewing window include running back TreVeyon Henderson participating in warmups after he was initially expected to miss all of spring, third-year quarterback Kyle McCord was first in line in QB drills and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. took reps as the first-team punt returner with Emeka Egbuka unavailable this spring.

“We moved [Marvin] around all over the place and we want him to grow,” Day said.

Day was also asked about the Buckeyes depth on both offense and defense.

“Running back, receiver we’re pretty strong there, tight end feel pretty good about that,” Day said. “Offensive line certainly some guys we’ve got to replace and focus on building . . . it’s been long time since we’ve had three-four quarterback under scholarship.”

“On defense, up front I feel good about the first group and half. We’ve got to keep building the twos and threes . . . Linebacker again same thing . I feel good about the first three or four guys and then we’ve got to keep building the depth there,” Day said. “Safety we brought Ja’Had [Carter] and Davison [Igbinosun] in at corner so that helped with the depth but I think we’ll get a better feel for where everybody’s at probably about the time we get back from spring break.”

Day said the safety position is one that will become more clear after spring break next week but said he likes the progression of rising sophomore and Pickerington Central product Sonny Styles.

“You’ve seen what he can do in his first year. In the role that he played las year . . . I couldn’t be more impressed. He’s a playmaker.”

Knowles said Styles ‘held his own’ in the Buckeyes College Football Playoff semifinal and is certainly in the conversation when it comes to the best 11 players on defense.

Notable number changes include second-year quarterback Devin Brown wearing No. 33 and safety Sonny Styles wearing No. 6.

“I thought of Larry Bird,” Day said with a smile when Brown asked him if he could wear No. 33.

“The reason behind it was Sammy Baugh. I mean he was the first quarterback inducted into the [Pro] Hall of Fame in 1963 with the Washington Football Team. I mean he was a legend,” Brown said. “That’s the original quarterback number in my opinion so I’m gonna rock the original quarterback number.”

Ohio State’s season begins Sept. 2 at Indiana and three weeks later, the Buckeyes travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame on NBC4. The 2023 season also marks the start of the Big Ten’s seven-year contract with NBC, CBS and FOX.

Broadcast assignments for most games are usually determined about two weeks before kickoff.