2026 Spring Game Standouts: Devin Sanchez’s Surge Continues, Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Beau Atkinson Play Pass Rush Menace
Saturday’s spring game offered the final look at Ohio State’s 2026 football team until preseason camp begins in more than three months.
No decisions in position battles are being made, and players who need to raise their level for Ohio State will still have plenty to prove this fall, regardless of how well their spring practice or spring game went. Still, great springs often lead into great seasons. And there were plenty of standouts in the Shoe on Saturday, even if reps were split between the first-, second- and third-team units.
The Buckeyes’ secondary capped a dominant March and April, holding the offense to a combined 21-of-49 (42.9%) passing for 274 yards and one touchdown. The bulk of those yards and the score came from freshman wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., who was among the top head-turners from the scrimmage.
Ohio State’s first-team interior offensive line also had the upper hand on its interior defensive line, though Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and Beau Atkinson won a bevy of reps off the edge. We’re here to break down 14 standouts from the Buckeyes’ 2026 spring game, as the nearing summer weather brings a dry season for football viewing.
CB Devin Sanchez
What a spring it’s been for the projected first-year starter and five-star prospect Sanchez. Jeremiah Smith played just one series for the Buckeyes on Saturday and picked up two receptions for 21 yards on that drive, but Sanchez still threw clamps on the nation’s best wide receiver for one play before he left the field. He provided perfect, clean coverage on the fade route, recording a pass breakup.
Sanchez stayed in phase on almost every coverage assignment he received. Everything is lining up for a star turn in his second year.
DE Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
Jackson was a menace to offensive tackles Carter Lowe and Ian Moore, as Austin Siereveld and Phillip Daniels were sidelined for the spring game. The fifth-year senior provided consistent pressure and recorded two sacks on back-to-back plays in the second quarter. He’ll provide needed star power to Ohio State’s defensive line.
WR Chris Henry Jr.
The five-star freshman made flashes that fans have been craving since he signed with Ohio State, hauling in four receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. That included two bombs off the arm of Tavien St. Clair, with the score coming on a 40-yard strike up the sideline.
TSC to CHJ for six
Big Ten Network pic.twitter.com/OPow9dkZta
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 18, 2026
The four-man competition among Henry, UTSA transfer Devin McCuin, LSU transfer Kyle Parker and fellow freshman Brock Boyd will continue into the fall. McCuin, Parker and Boyd all had their moments to shine in open practices and Boyd had one of the earliest freshman black stripe removals since the tradition started. But in the spring game, Henry made by far the biggest splash.
S Jaylen McClain
As McClain repeatedly showed this spring, Caleb Downs’ incredible play overshadowed the fact that the New Jersey native was also one of the best safeties in college football in 2025. His role opened up in the spring game, playing all over the field whether in the slot, in the box or at free safety. An eraser in pass coverage, some of that versatility was on display when he stuffed a completion to tight end Nate Roberts in the flats for minimal gain.
DE Beau Atkinson
The highlight of Atkinson’s spring game was, of course, the interception he collected off a batted ball by defensive tackle Will Smith Jr. He displayed his pass-rushing progress as a whole, however, getting home for a sack and showing more strength, bend and explosiveness.
LG Luke Montgomery
Though Montgomery and starting center Carson Hinzman only took the field for four offensive series before being rested for the remainder of the spring game, both were rock steady in pass protection and generated movement in the running game. Below is one of countless examples of Montgomery impersonating a mountain in pass protection, on this occasion against Smith.
C Carson Hinzman
Hinzman matched Montgomery’s effectiveness in his play, giving quarterback Julian Sayin room to climb the pocket with strong pass blocking. Ohio State’s offensive line had issues at tackle and with pressure off the edge without Siereveld and Daniels, and the second and third units up front had issues as well, but the Buckeyes’ two returning starters on the interior were a highlight of the spring game.
TE Nate Roberts
As the sophomore Roberts works to climb to the top of Ohio State’s tight end depth chart, he picked up two receptions for 24 yards in the Buckeyes’ spring game. Twenty of them came on one catch, the best showcase of the receiving threat he could bring to the offense in 2026. He set up linebacker Payton Pierce with a nice inside release on a corner route and leapt to snag the pass from Sayin through traffic.
QB Tavien St. Clair
There were definitely rough moments for St. Clair in the spring game, as he finished just 9-of-21 passing and tossed a couple of pick-worthy throws that weren’t secured by Ohio State’s defensive backs. But man, the kid has a cannon. That’s why he finished with 166 passing yards despite his low completion percentage (42.9%). This throw to Henry was perhaps the most impressive:
Welcome to The ‘Shoe Chris Henry Jr @ChrisHenryJr | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/0NS178pHbn
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) April 18, 2026
P Joe McGuire
As Ohio State works toward better special teams this offseason, its returning starting punter looked fantastic in the Shoe on Saturday. McGuire’s first punt traveled 50 yards before being fair caught, and his second was a perfect 46-yard drop to the 3-yard line.
RB Ja’Kobi Jackson
Jackson didn’t make any splash plays running the football, playing RB1 with Bo Jackson, Isaiah West, Legend Bey and Anthony “Turbo” Rogers all out for the contest. But what the Florida transfer did do is make plays in the receiving game. He finished with the second-most receptions and third-most yards in the contest (three catches for 36 yards), proving a safe outlet for Sayin and St. Clair as they faced consistent pressure.
LB Eli Lee
Not the first time that the redshirt freshman Lee has impressed, he played with a downhill ferocity on defense in the spring game, with two plays that stood out from the rest. The first came on a perfect window fill into what looked like a big hole for running back Favour Akih, stuffing him for a 1-yard gain. The second came with an emphatic 4th-and-2 stop of Akih. He fought through traffic at the line of scrimmage and squared up the freshman, driving him backward and into the ground.
LB Cincere Johnson
Right before Lee’s fourth-down stuff, Johnson shot a gap to shut down a 3rd-and-2 run with force. The five-star freshman looks athletic and talented, even if he and Lee are both likely to be buried on the depth chart this year. James Laurinaitis’ room has a strong future and present, even after losing two likely top-10 NFL draft picks in Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles.
DE Khary Wilder
Another talented freshman, Wilder got going against the depth of Ohio State’s offensive line in the second half, providing relentless pressure off the edge. He’ll aim to keep settling in and building for the future come fall.
