Ohio State Offensive Star Suffers Brutal Season-Ending Injury

An Ohio State Buckeyes offensive star has suffered a brutal season-ending injury.

Ohio State Buckeyes offensive lineman Seth McLaughlin (56) warms up during the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pa. on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024. Ohio State won 20-13. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes are headed into a massive showdown this week against the Indiana Hoosiers. Fans have been extremely excited about this game and it promises to be must-watch football.

Unfortunately, Ohio State will be taking on Indiana without one of their key offensive stars.

According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch, star center Seth McLaughlin has suffered a torn Achilles and will miss the rest of the season.

"Ohio State starting center Seth McLaughlin tore an Achilles tendon in practice on Tuesday, a source told The Dispatch. He’s likely to miss the rest of the season, as the usual timeline to recover from an Achilles tear is months."

They also went on to detail who will likely be stepping in to replace McLaughlin. Josh Padilla appears to be the likely candidate to take the job.

"Josh Padilla, a redshirt freshman from Huber Heights, has been the backup behind McLaughlin in recent weeks and replaced him at center when the Buckeyes pulled their starters on offense for their final series of last Saturday’s win at Northwestern."

Needless to say, this is a massive blow for the Buckeyes. McLaughlin has been a key leader for the team this season and he has led by example.

Losing McLaughlin is going to be tough to recover from. He has been a key part of keeping quarterback Will Howard upright and healthy. Without him, Ohio State will have a lot of work to do.

Hopefully, the team will be able to come together following the loss of McLaughlin. The Hoosiers have a very talented defense and will do everything in their power to capitalize on this injury.

Looking ahead to the College Football Playoffs, his absence will hurt in an even bigger way.

There are simply no good things to say about the situation. The only hope is that the Buckeyes are deep enough to hold together and figure things out.