One of Ohio State’s most compelling position battles this spring will be the competition between Malik Hartford and Jaylen McClain to start alongside Caleb Downs at safety.
Hartford looked like he was on the fast track toward becoming one of Ohio State’s top safeties as soon as last year when he made two starts filling in for Josh Proctor and played the third-most snaps among Ohio State’s true freshmen (behind only Carnell Tate and Jermaine Mathews Jr.) in 2023. After Ohio State brought in Downs and Hartford missed last spring due to shoulder surgery, however, Hartford ended up playing just 94 defensive snaps as a sophomore with nearly all of them coming late in blowout wins.