College football spring game takeaways: Ohio State freshman impress, scary injury moment for Texas A&M

Ohio State rolled out another high-end performance model to join its expansive fleet of wide receivers under Ryan Day during Saturday's spring game, a five-star freshman eager to show out this season alongside Jeremiah Smith.

Updated specs were on full display for Chris Henry Jr., the nation's No. 2 pass-catcher in the 2026 cycle, according to 247Sports, after hauling in a 40-yard touchdown reception in the first half. The toss from Tavien St. Clair — who stuck around this offseason to play behind returning Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin at quarterback — showcased why the Buckeyes may have the deepest quarterback room in the country.

Day liked what he saw from Henry, but the offense's newest hot rod isn't running at full capacity just yet.

"He made a couple nice plays down the field, then had an opportunity to keep a drive going — we dropped that one. ... But there's some good, some bad," Day said at halftime. "When a guy comes out here for the first time, there's going to be some of that going on, but it was good to see him make a couple plays downfield."

"He is showing you why he is one of the top receivers in the nation." 🗣️@OhioStateFB fans are getting a good first look at 5-star WR Chris Henry Jr. 👀

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Henry is hoping to beat out UTSA transfer Devin McCuin in the first-team wideout rotation behind Smith and Brandon Inniss. Smith had a 10-yard gain on a swing pass on the first rep from Sayin and another reception on a dart over the middle that would have gone for a touchdown had the play not been blown dead early.

Henry finished with four catches for 96 yards, while St. Clair led all quarterbacks with 161 yards on a 9-for-20 showing.

Henry had his black stripe removed earlier this week, officially becoming a Buckeye as an early enrollee, and was the second freshman to achieve the honor behind fellow wideout Brock Boyd. Boyd, a three-star signee out of Southlake, Texas, carried his strong spring showing into the final scrimmage as a versatile threat, making a couple of receptions while showcasing his hands.

The game's announcing crew mentioned Boyd as one of the week's most fiery players at practice and said that he scolded his quarterback during a red-zone period when he wasn't targeted despite being open for a touchdown.

First-year Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith understood the drill and let the Buckeyes' quarterback tandem of Sayin and St. Clair do the rest in the opening half, spreading it around to numerous targets on heavy crossing routes.

Defensively, the Buckeyes replace numerous all-conference honorees from a season ago after reaching the Big Ten Championship, but showed ferocity up front on Saturday, including two sacks from Kenyatta Jackson Jr. and a sack and interception from former North Carolina transfer Beau Atkinson.

The Aggies called the first half a few minutes early following a scary injury to junior linebacker and team captain Daymion Sanford. He got rolled up after the two-minute warning and had to be carted off following what video replays showed was a serious ankle injury.

Sanford played behind Scooby Williams last fall and was expected to be one of the Aggies' breakout defenders in 2026 after registering 57 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Before Sanford's injury, sophomore linebacker Noah Mikhail scored the scrimmage's first touchdown on a 30-yard interception return after stepping in front of an errant throw from freshman Helaman Casuga, a four-star signee out of Draper, Utah.

Texas A&M's first-team defense, which was split across two teams, forced the issue up front and won the day. However, Mike Elko and staff did get a glimpse of Marcel Reed's weaponry at wide receiver at times when quarterbacks were given time. Ashton Bethel-Roman made a diving catch from redshirt freshman Brady Hart on fourth down in the first quarter against zero coverage, a well-executed pitch-and-catch that set up a field goal.

Bethel-Roman caught 24 passes for 503 yards and five touchdowns as a second-year freshman last season and will see his role increase following the exit of KC Concepcion to the 2026 NFL Draft. He'll be one of the anchors for the Aggies offensively in the passing game, along with slot receiver Mario Craver (59 catches, 917 yards, four touchdowns in 2025) and Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton, who snared his first target from Hart in Saturday's scrimmage near the sideline.

"I thought he did a lot of what we hoped he'd be able to do for us, making contested catches," Elko said of Horton. "That's what height can do at wide receiver. We're excited we were able to land him and, obviously, he's had a huge spring for us."

Reed played three possessions in the opening half, the first ending in a field goal from Illinois transfer David Olano. Elko said Reed is more comfortable "seeing and reading" defenses this offseason and said the timing and spacing of Texas A&M's passing game has improved exiting spring camp.

Kirby Smart put his first-team offense in red jerseys and his first-team defense in black to try to get a balanced assessment of where his team stands ahead of his 11th season in Athens.

Coming off a conference title and College Football Playoff appearance, Georgia's secondary should be one of the SEC's best, along with the return of veteran quarterback Gunner Stockton. But there are starting spots to resolve at other position groups, including offensive line, wide receiver and linebacker, following a recent injury to Auburn transfer Amaree Williams.

Four-star freshman wideout Craig Dandridge had a chain-moving catch from Stockton in the first quarter to put his team in the red zone, leading to a field goal, and later had a leaping grab in coverage along the sideline but was unable to stay in bounds. Georgia replaces six of its top seven receivers from last season, so the expectation is Dandridge could break into a rotation that will include London Humphreys, Sacovie White-Helton, Talyn Taylor and transfer Isiah Canion, among others.

Stockton completed a short touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore reserve tight end Jade Reddell in the red zone on a slant route, an attempt he wasn't always comfortable making last season near the goal line. Taylor had a 32-yard reception in the second quarter from Ryan Puglisi on a well-thrown ball despite tight coverage in man, with the drive later capped by a 1-yard touchdown run from Dwight Phillips Jr.

Drop it in the 🪣

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Outside linebacker Chase Linton, a redshirt freshman out of Atlanta, made several nice plays off the edge and one in coverage during the opening half. He has positioned himself for a bigger role in 2026 after being one of three outside linebackers Georgia signed during last year's recruiting cycle.

"[He's] probably tougher than I expected in terms of the guy likes contact and he likes hard work. He's been a high-motor player for us," Smart said earlier this month. "He plays with twitch, and he plays bigger than he is."

RB1 Nate Frazier tweaked his foot in the first quarter and did not return after he was seen limping on the sideline. A key re-signing for the Bulldogs this offseason, Frazier rushed for 947 yards and six touchdowns last fall and is ahead of Chauncey Bowens, Dante Dowdell and others on the depth chart.

For now -- and this is only from a brief scrimmage glimpse with vanilla game-planning and plenty of depth players -- new Michigan defensive coordinator Jay Hill has early bragging rights over offensive play-caller Jason Beck as the Wolverines prepare for the 2026 season under Kyle Whittingham.

Hill, who played under Whittingham at Utah, inherits a unit that replaces several key starters and contributors from last year's squad and has spent 15 practices trying to install a complicated scheme. He said last month it would look a lot like Michigan's defense from 2023, an aggressive, constantly attacking unit.

During Saturday's 40-minute scrimmage -- a controlled practice of sorts with basic defensive fronts and two-high coverages -- Michigan's defense kept chunk plays to a minimum and tackled well in space, leading to only three first-half points between alternating snaps from quarterbacks Bryce Underwood and Tommy Carr.

The freshman Carr showed impressive acceleration and elusiveness at times, providing another element opposing defenses will eventually have to prepare for. Carr was 6 of 8 passing in the first half for 38 yards and showed notable accuracy and velocity after intermission.

Five-star running back Savion Hiter, the No. 21 player overall in the 2026 cycle, made his anticipated debut and looked the part. An aggressive, low-pad-level runner who showed physicality on each of his touches, Hiter will epitomize Whittingham's identity in Ann Arbor based on his rushing style and toughness.

Underwood was 3 for 9 for 22 yards in the first half and did not play in the second. He was not featured as a run threat, which is expected to be integral to Beck's scheme this season. Michigan returns 72% of its offensive production from a season ago, ranking sixth-best among Power Four teams, with 2,820 total yards from Underwood and 17 touchdowns.

In addition to Ohio State, Texas A&M, Georgia and Michigan, 16 other Power Four programs concluded practice Saturday with a spring game or some variation: Auburn, California, Duke, Georgia Tech, Houston, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.