Springfield native Knox in mix for time on Ohio State’s O-line

Knox redshirted as a freshman in 2014 and played in all 13 games last season, mostly on special teams. The 6-foot-4, 308-pound Knox is competing for playing time on a young offensive line.

Jamarco Jones, Michael Jordan, Pat Elflein, Billy Price and Isaiah Prince are expected to start, but Knox said all the linemen are practicing with the first and second units as the coaches try to build depth by getting players as many repetitions as possible.

“The offensive line depth is obviously a concern,” coach Urban Meyer said Sunday. “That’s where Matt Burrell, Demetrius Knox have really got to come on. Branden Bowen has got a long ways to go, but he’s going to come on, too.”

Knox said everyone is working hard for playing time.

“We’re all pushing each other to get better,” Knox said. “Once the season comes, we’ll see.”

Knox backed up Price at left guard last season. He got to learn from the likes of Taylor Decker and Chase Farris.

“We got to see how the older guys did it before us,” Knox said. “It gave us time to grow and mature.”

Running back competition: Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel are the top two backs, Meyer said Sunday, and Dontre Wilson and two true freshmen, Demario McCall and Antonio Wilson, are also fighting for playing time.

“Right now Mike and Curtis are the top two backs in the program, and they’re not (Ezekiel Elliott) level yet,” Meyer said. “Curtis is pretty close even for a guy that doesn’t get as many reps at pass protection.”

Tough decision: Wide receiver Torrance Gibson revealed Sunday he almost left Ohio State last season when he redshirted as a freshman.

“I called my mom,” Gibson said, “and I’m like, ‘I’m coming home.’ She said, ‘What? No. If you come home, you’re not living here,’ and she hung up on me. I was like, ‘Wow.’ It made me think again. I wanted to go home because I wasn’t playing, but then I thought about it like, ‘Where am I going to go?’ It wasn’t going to help me at all. I was going to be doing nothing and getting in trouble.”

Practice update: The Buckeyes held their second two-a-day Monday and will have seven more practices in the next five days. They're holding practices at the Coffey Road fields on grass this week, though the first practice Monday was moved indoors because of a storm.