With 51 new players, Ohio State football had to integrate the Buckeyes' most recent additions as soon as possible. Preseason camp would be too late to start the process.
With that in mind, director of football performance Mickey Marotti helped create “mini-squads” for new players and the returners to connect over the summer.
“One of our goals was to get closer,” Marotti said. “We forced it. … I made all the squads go to the golf course, show where we eat on a Friday before a game or take them down to our hotel that we stay at, which a lot of guys don't know because they're new. So, the leaders do these things to get everybody up to speed with what we do and what our culture is.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day has used this kind of system in the past
to build team chemistry, since he and his assistants are limited in how much they can interact with players, especially once the grind of regular-season practices gets underway.
“We know adversity is going to hit, and when adversity does hit, we’ve got to come together,” Day said. “The only way to do that is to build a connected team. And so, that's why so much of what we do in the summer is going to have an impact on how the season runs out. That's why I really say this is the backbone of our program.”
Setting up the mini-squads started with the coaching staff selecting each group's leader. Those leaders "drafted" teammates to their respective mini-squads.
Those mini-squads worked out together throughout the summer, but also spent time together outside of training.
Second-year starting quarterback Julian Sayin was one of the mini-squad leaders and had a group that included Florida transfer running back Ja'Kobi Jackson.
“It's been a lot of fun to connect with those guys, and you teach them different things about Ohio State and also keep them on track,” Sayin said. “I think we have a really gritty group of guys who love ball and who love playing the game and are tough guys.”
Jaylen McClain's mini-squad included players from the Buckeyes' offense, defense and special teams. Rookie wide receiver Jaeden Ricketts, offensive lineman Jake Cook and the projected starting kicker Connor Hawkins, a transfer from Baylor, were just some of the players McClain worked with every day.
Interacting with those teammates proved just as valuable to McClain as his knowledge of Ohio State’s program was for the new players.
“It got you out of your comfort zone a little bit, and now we’re comfortable,” McClain said. “It was guys I wouldn't normally talk to, but as a leader, you've got to know everybody. You can't be a leader if you don't know everybody.”
On Aug. 22, McClain and Sayin were announced as two of Ohio State's seven captains.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's 'mini-squads' helped Buckeyes build chemistry fast this summer
