Ohio State Buckeyes: Fans will be able to attend early preseason practices

Ohio State will not have to wait until September to see the 2023 Buckeyes on a football field.

The school’s licensing agency announced Wednesday two preseason practices will be open to a limited number of fans for a fee, and a preseason luncheon is also planned for the week practice begins.

Tickets to practice at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center will be available for Aug. 3 and 4, the first two days of preseason camp. They will cost $30 per person with a limit of five per fan and an overall cap of 500 spectators each day. They are set to go on sale online at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Gates will open at 8:30 a.m. with practicing beginning at approximately 9:15.

The first Ryan Day Season Kickoff Luncheon is set for noon-1:30 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the Fawcett Center.

Day will speak at the event, and the head coach and his assistants are scheduled to have a Q&A with fans.

A table of eight will cost $2,500 and can be reserved online until July 28.

For more information or questions call LC Events (380-204-0763).

Ohio State will open the season Sept. 2 at Indiana then host Youngstown State a week later for the home opener.

The preseason unofficially gets underway next week when Day and the rest of the Big Ten’s coaches travel to Indianapolis for Big Ten Football Media Days.

Day is scheduled to speak July 26, the first day of the event, and Ohio State is bringing receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., tight end Cade Stover and defensive end J.T. Tuimolau as well.

Those three are among 12 returning starters for the Buckeyes, who went 11-2 last season and came within a missed last-second field goal of playing in the national championship game.

Ohio State also returns starting nose tackle Ty Hamilton, linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers, cornerback Denzel Burke and safety Lathan Ransom on a defense that improved last season but broke down at key moments in losses to Michigan and Georgia.

On offense, Harrison and Stover are joined by offensive linemen Donovan Jackson and Matthew Jones, receiver Emeka Egbuka and running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, who split time while battling injuries.

Junior Kyle McCord and redshirt freshman Devin Brown are vying to replace C.J. Stroud at quarterback while the offensive line picture remained muddled at the end of spring practice and appears to be a major question mark heading into the preseason.

Marquee matchups this season include a trip to Notre Dame on Sept. 23 and a visit from Penn State on Oct. 21.

The Buckeyes will conclude the regular season Nov. 25 at Michigan with an eye on ending a two-game losing streak to the Wolverines, who have won the Big Ten the past two seasons and made the College Football Playoff.

Coach Jim Harbaugh’s team figures to be the preseason favorite as Ohio State works to find a quarterback, answer offensive line questions and continue Jim Knowles’ retooling of the defense.

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