COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The first week of preseason camp is under way for Ohio State, and coach Ryan Day provided position competition updates Thursday afternoon.

Preseason camp is about identifying which players will start the season, which will open Aug. 31 at Ohio Stadium against Akron.

Among the key decisions is who will start at quarterback, after Kyle McCord transferred to Syracuse. Will Howard, a transfer from Kansas State, is going for the job as part of a group that includes freshman Julian Sayin.

Day said that while no decisions have been made, Howard’s efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“Will has taken some strides the last couple of practices, taken control of the offense. He hasn’t won the job, but we’ve seen some positive play there.”

And it’s unclear who will protect that quarterback at right guard, where Carson Hinzman, Tegra Tshabola and Luke Montgomery are competing in practice. An illness that has impacted several on the offensive line, however, has limited some of the players’ availability.

“A couple of guys on the offensive line had to double up (today), and I called them out after practice and gave them a shout-out because that wasn’t easy. They were tough and gritty,” Day said. “If this continues like this then it is going to have an effect. (But) if we can flush this thing out pretty soon then I think this will be just a bump in the road,. We’ll see how this weekend shakes out.”

Asked if there was any clarity at the position, Day simply said, “No, not right now. Nothing yet.”

And on defense, Cody Simon is expected to start at one of the linebacker positions but the other one is less clear, with C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles in the mix.