Ohio State's fall training-camp session officially ended on Saturday, meaning Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes are officially in game-planning mode for the 2016 season.
And while Ohio State fans gain a growing anticipation for the season opener, the players are feeling a sense of relief that the hardest part of camp is now over.
The Buckeyes, who checked in at No. 6 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll on Sunday, have just one free weekend remaining before officially kicking off their 2016 campaign against Bowling Green on September 3.
Here are the biggest storylines from Week 2 of fall camp.
The Last-Stand Seniors
Ohio State's perimeter attack will feature a host of new players after losing starters Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller, and while the wide receiver unit will be bolstered by a lot of young talent, there are two seniors coming off injury who are looking to lead the group.
Dontre Wilson came to Ohio State as a high 4-star prospect and pegged by many as the next coming of all-purpose back Percy Harvin—the All-American who thrived under Meyer at Florida. But despite a productive freshman season in 2013, when he put together 460 total yards and three touchdowns, his collegiate career has been defined more by lingering injuries than on-field production.
“My freshman year, I was too little, I wasn’t good at blocking. My sophomore year I got hurt (broken bone in his right foot). Last year I got hurt (foot sprain), and then Braxton came over (to hybrid back). They had to get him involved in the game," Wilson said, according to Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch.
Corey Smith is in a similar boat. The former junior-college transfer has been in and out of Ohio State's lineup during his career, but after suffering a season-ending broken leg in Week 5 last season, the NCAA granted him a sixth season of eligibility via a medical redshirt.
Smith is taking the lessons learned from Thomas, last year's leading receiver for the Buckeyes, and hoping to make a similar impact.
“[Thomas] was my guy," Smith said, according to Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal. "He showed me the way, honestly,” Smith said Sunday during Ohio State media day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “I saw him do it; now I know I can do it.
Both Smith and Wilson are competing for starting spots, and they're trying to make the most of their last season in Columbus.
"I’ve taken my game to the next level," Wilson said, per May. "I catch the ball better, run better routes, understand coverages better, great at blocking right now. And I’m healthy. So I can just go out there and go—full speed, not thinking about anything else.”
The Top Target
Even with all the question marks on the perimeter, wide receivers coach Zach Smith has been optimistic about his young group since the outset of the offseason.
"I had a number of guys, really my whole group had a great spring," Smith said last April, according to Eric Seger of Eleven Warriors.
And while that group has continued to surge in fall camp, one player in particular—redshirt sophomore Noah Brown—has emerged a potential superstar for the Buckeyes.
Brown was expected to be a big part of last year's loaded offense, but a broken leg less than two weeks before the season opener against Virginia Tech cost him the season. After a lengthy rehab that kept him out of contact drills during the spring, the wideout is now 100 percent healthy and ready to break out.
“I’m hungry,” Brown said last week, according to Patrick Murphy of The Ozone. “I can’t wait to get back out there. Every day I work on getting better and better and better for when the season comes around, I think I can do what I know I can do. So I’m excited.”
Brown has been stellar in fall camp once again and is catching just about everything thrown his way.
If he can carry this momentum onto the playing field this fall, Ohio State's offense will have a much-easier time replacing its three lost receiver starters.
The Loaded Secondary
Ohio State's secondary was hit just as hard as the wide receiver unit when it lost cornerback Eli Apple and safeties Tyvis Powell and Vonn Bell to the NFL. But despite that attrition, the Buckeyes are reloading on the back end of their defense.
The group is led by the lone returning starter, cornerback Gareon Conley, who knows he has big shoes to fill with NFL draft picks Bradley Roby, Doran Grant and Apple leaving a big legacy.
“Every year, [Ohio State cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs] wants first-round draft picks and championships,” Conley said, according to Tim Shoemaker of Eleven Warriors. “That’s what I’m going to try to give him.”
Conley is the anchor of a young and talented group. At safety, Damon Webb, Malik Hooker, Erick Smith and Cam Burrows are battling for starting spots. The other cornerback opening is a three-man race between Marshon Lattimore, Denzel Ward and Damon Arnette—a contest that's so heated because of the group's talent level.
“It’s looking good. We’re still battling,” Lattimore said, per Shoemaker. “Our defensive backfield is nice from top to bottom so it’s a battle every day.”
But even with all that young talent, the unit is still looking up to the lone returning starter.
"Last year, I was a new starter so I was trying to learn the experience, learn the room," Conley said, per Shoemaker. "Now I’m the only starter (in the secondary), so I have to lead these guys and bring them up with me and hold them to expectations and the standard.”
The Questions in the Backfield
The running back spot was supposed to be one of the most closely watched position battles in fall camp midway through the summer, but the unexpected dismissal of senior Bri'onte Dunn put Mike Weber in pole position for the starting job.
To his credit, Weber has answered the bell this fall and looks as sharp as a redshirt freshman could, given his situation. Despite being two weeks from seeing the first collegiate action of his career, expectations are already sky-high after Carlos Hyde and Ezekiel Elliott managed to carve their way through the Big Ten.
“I used to think about that a lot when I first realized I was going to be the starter here,” Weber said of following in Hyde and Elliott's role, according to Austin Ward of ESPN.com. “But now I’m just learning to tone it out and just play ball—do what I’ve been doing my whole life.
And while Weber is the clear-cut No. 1, questions arose this week as to who would back up the bulldozing running back. While it looked like true freshman Antonio Williams was primed to fill that role, Meyer announced a different name this week.
Samuel came to Ohio State as an all-purpose back, and he won the backup role behind Elliott during the 2014 national title run. The Buckeyes moved him to the H-back position in an effort to get him the ball more last season, but with the lack of depth at running back this fall, it makes sense to get one of the team's most electric playmakers more opportunities.
All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports.
David Regimbal is the lead Ohio State football writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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