Ohio State’s season opener against Ball State won’t be the headline game on the Buckeyes’ schedule, but it still offers a useful first look at the 2026 roster before the trip to Austin, Texas a week later.
The Buckeyes are set to meet Ball State for the first time ever, and while Week 1 should function as a warmup, there’s still enough here to make it worth watching closely. It’s a chance for Ohio State to rotate bodies, sharpen the details and see whether Ball State has anyone capable of making that process a little less clean.
Keldric Luster is one of those names. This is his third college stop, but the first one where he’ll actually get a real shot to play.
He began at SMU in 2023 before moving to Texas State last season, and across those two stops he logged just 67 snaps, completing 4 of 12 passes for 37 yards. There’s also a small connection to Ohio State in the mix: he played high school football at McKinney High School in Texas with current Buckeye Riley Pettijohn.
Donovan Hamilton gives Ball State something more tangible on offense. He was one of the Cardinals’ most productive returning players and the only returning wide receiver who topped 30 targets last season.
He finished with 20 catches for 244 yards. Ball State isn’t expected to threaten Ohio State’s secondary, but Hamilton at least gives Devin Sanchez a solid early test.
At 6-foot-4 and 217 pounds, he has a similar build to Cam Coleman, which makes him a useful first-week measuring stick. Saturday could give Sanchez a chance to flash his ball skills in a low-pressure setting.
On the other side, Willizhuan Yates is the kind of cover corner who can force a quarterback to work for every clean throw. He has been a steady presence for Ball State over the past two years, allowing catches on just 54.5% of the 66 targets he has faced. He has also given up 60 or more yards in a game only three times, though one of those outings turned into a rough one: 200 yards allowed on seven catches against Kent State.
Scandrett is another experienced piece back in the Mid-American Conference after spending last season at Arkansas, where injuries led to a medical redshirt. Before that, he was a three-year starter at Eastern Michigan and built up a strong resume with 163 career tackles, six pass breakups and four interceptions.
Those four names are the ones most likely to matter if Ball State is going to make Ohio State earn its first-week work.
In Other News...
Ohio State Has A Family-Tied Recruiting Battle Fans Need To Watch
DeMarcus Henry is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing names for Buckeyes fans to track on the recruiting trail, and not just because of his standing as a top-five national basketball forward. The family link matters here too, since he is the brother of Ohio State freshman football player Chris Henry Jr., which gives the Buckeyes a built-in connection as they try to make their pitch against a crowded field of major programs.
Louisville is reportedly next on Henrys official visit list, a sign that this recruitment is still in a serious evaluation phase even with Ohio State among his top options. With several blueblood-level programs involved, the battle will likely come down to fit, relationships and how each school chooses to spend its recruiting resources, leaving Buckeyes fans watching closely as the calendar moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Day Is Fueling Buzz Around A Key Buckeyes Position Battle
A new transfer has quickly become part of the conversation in Columbus, and Devin McCuin is arriving with some real momentum behind him. Ryan Day has been vocal about the UTSA product, pointing to the production McCuin brought over three seasons and the way he has already caught the attention of people around the program. With Jeremiah Smith locked into the top spot, the Buckeyes are looking for the next receiver to step into a meaningful role, and McCuin is clearly in that mix.
What makes the buzz interesting is not just the rsum, but the way Ohio State insiders are talking about his ceiling. Days praise suggests McCuin is doing more than simply filling a roster spot, and the next stretch of camp will help clarify how quickly he can turn that goodwill into a real role in the offense. For a team that always expects impact production at wide receiver, the competition behind Smith is one of the more important battles to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States New-Look Opener Will Reveal A Lot About This Team
Ohio State opens the season against Ball State with a roster that looks very different from the one Buckeyes fans saw a year ago. There are 11 new starters and 51 new players in the mix, along with a new offensive coordinator in Arthur Smith, so this first game is less about polishing a finished product than getting an early read on how quickly the pieces fit together.
Ball States passing game should give Ohio State some room to settle in, but the opener still carries plenty of value for a team trying to identify who can handle bigger roles once the schedule tightens. The spotlight will fall on a few newcomers in particular, and for the Buckeyes, the most important part may be finding out which of them look ready now and which ones still need time before the real tests begin. [Read more 🡒]