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Only two of the six Ohio State captains for the 2021 season were available to play for the Buckeyes at the end of the first quarter of Saturday’s game against Tulsa.
Wide receiver Kamryn Babb has not been available to play all season due to an ACL tear. Defensive end Zach Harrison was ruled out for Saturday’s game due to an undisclosed injury, while linebacker Teradja Mitchell also did not play after being scored as a game time decision. Left guard Thayer Munford was eliminated from Saturday’s game in the first quarter with an apparent ankle injury; he was seen wearing a walking boot on the sidelines.
The injuries of Munford and Harrison, in particular, are significant if either of them is running out of time. Munford is the Buckeyes’ most experienced player and leader of their offensive line, while Harrison has played the most snaps of any defensive end in Ohio State’s first two games.
Day expressed optimism after Saturday’s game, however, that the two would be back on the pitch as soon as possible.
Day said Harrison’s decision not to play Tulsa was made on Saturday morning. The Buckeyes are hoping Harrison will be back on the field next weekend against Akron.
“We hope to bring him back to training next week,” Day said. “It was sort of a game time decision, but we thought the best thing for him to do was hold him back for this game and hope to get him back next week.”
The timing of Munford’s return is less certain, but Day said early indications were that the injury would not keep him from entering for much of the season.
“It doesn’t seem like the long term,” Day said. “How long, I don’t know. But the photos that were taken and everything does not look long.
Thayer Munford gripped his ankle in pain after falling in the first quarter against Tulsa.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste made his first start of the season as a defensive end in place of Harrison while Cody Simon made his first career start as linebacker in place of Mitchell. Matthew Jones played the remainder of the game at left guard after Munford fell, and left tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere believed Jones had done a great job replacing Munford.
“Losing Thayer is a big loss. As I said at the start of the season, Thayer is one of our most important offensive linemen and he is a leader not only on the offensive line but also on the offensive line. ‘attack and the team in general. He’s been a fixture for a few years. But things like this are happening, “said Petit-Frère.” So Matt Jones stepped in, he did an amazing job, did very well. communicated with me and Luke (Wypler) at center. He had an amazing day, I think he had a really good day on the offensive line, and he just couldn’t be prouder that he stepped in and completed his role when his number was called.
Another Buckeye who was noticeably absent from Saturday’s game was Miyan Williams, who started the first two games as a running back but didn’t play a snap against Tulsa. Day said Williams was available to play, although he missed practice this week due to illness, but Ohio State simply decided to go with TreVeyon Henderson and Master Teague against Tulsa. – mainly Henderson, who ran for a freshman record of 277 yards. and three TDs in 24 races against the Golden Hurricane.
“We were playing the hot hand over there,” Day said. “I thought Master practiced well. Miyan missed one of the workouts this week and wasn’t feeling well so these guys trained a bit better. It wasn’t like we were holding him, but TreVeyon was sexy, so Coach Alford went with him.
Martinez makes six picks on his defensive debut
Although Ohio State faced 25 different players in defense in its opener against Minnesota and 26 different players in defense in its second game against Oregon, Cameron Martinez was not one of them. them in neither of the two matches. But that has changed a lot against Tulsa.
According to Pro Football Focus, Martinez played 39 snaps against the Golden Hurricane as a cornerback / cover safety. Most of these snaps came in nickel wrappers, in which he lined the Lathan Ransom starter cover safety in the slot. And he took advantage of his opportunity.
Martinez showed his playmaking ability throughout the day, but his biggest game came with less than two minutes to go. Having already broken three passes earlier in the game, Martinez caught a pass from Davis Brin at the 39-yard line, then showed his ability to find the end zone that made him a star quarterback. from high school as he walked the 61 yards. for a defensive touchdown that sealed Ohio State’s 41-20 victory.
@OhioStateFB pick up Tulsa and take her home !! pic.twitter.com/PEO3Y53jZe
– FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 18, 2021
In a week that Ohio State made changes in an attempt to fix his failing defense, Martinez was happy that one of those changes was to give him a substantial role in high school.
“They kind of always talked about being ready. They put us in a position in practice to always stay ready and be successful. It’s kind of what they do every week, and my name got called out this weekend, and it was really fun, ”Martinez said after the game. “I had a blast doing whatever they had to do.”
Martinez said he saw an interception arrive for the Ohio State defense in the series where he made his pick six, although he didn’t necessarily see it coming to him. Once done, however, he knew he had a chance to make it all the way to the end zone because he believed his teammates would give him that chance.
“I had every confidence in the world that on this ride we were going to have a choice,” Martinez said. “I didn’t know who was going to get it. Fortunately, it was me. I just had the confidence and I just knew once I got it that my teammates were also going to support me and do all the right blocks and bring him home.
Banks revert to cornerback rotation
Another defenseman who didn’t play at all in Ohio State’s first two games of the season but was included in the rotation against Tulsa was Sevyn Banks, who played his first 25 snaps of the year at the cornerback away against the Golden Hurricane, according to PFF.
Banks’ absence from the cornerback’s rotation in Ohio State’s first two games of the year came as a surprise, given he was an expected starting cornerback – and often included as a potential pick. first round in the early mock NFL draft – entering the season and was not listed as unavailable on the status report for either game.
The fourth-year eldest, who started all eight Ohio State games in 2018, missed time with injuries during spring practice and preschool, but Day said Tuesday that Banks was “not too injured to play “.
Sevyn Banks saw his first game time of the season against Tulsa.
Now that he’s back in the rotation but not starting, it looks like Banks was simply beaten for a starting position by real freshman Denzel Burke and fellow fourth-year Cameron Brown. While the Ohio State defense struggled through the first three games of the year, Burke and Brown were brilliant points at the outside cornerback – especially Burke, who was arguably the best defensive player in the game. Ohio State so far this season – so it’s far from guaranteed that Banks will get back into the starting lineup.
“He’s training a lot better, and we’re going to watch the movie and see how he played, assess and go from there,” Day said.
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