Oregon Preparing for Tough Ohio State Defense Regardless of Injuries

The Buckeyes have gotten banged up a bit so far this season and they may have to rely on some youth this week. The Ducks are still ready to get their best shot.

As the matchup against Ohio State grows closer, the status of some top members of the Buckeyes' secondary remains uncertain. The three injured defenders for Ohio State are three veteran starters: junior cornerback Sevyn Banks, junior cornerback Cameron Brown, and senior safety Josh Proctor.

Head Coach Ryan Day did not offer much as to the status of any of the injured Buckeyes during his media availability earlier this week.

“We went to the availability report--we kinda took that out of it for a lot of reasons," Day told reporters on Tuesday."Certainly there are different situations for each person and we just felt like moving forward, the best thing to do is not comment on any of type injuries.”

Despite these defensive injuries requiring young and inexperienced players to step into larger roles, Head Coach Mario Cristobal is not underestimating the depth Ohio State brings to the table.

“Playing teams like this, you gotta count on--there’s not gonna be much of a dropoff. The guy that’s playing is probably backed up by a great player that has been recruited and has been developing in the system or just got there and is capable of stepping in.”

Oregon wide receiver Mycah Pittman is prepared to get Ohio State's best shot regardless of who lines up across from him. 

“Their young guys are good. A true freshman getting on the field at Ohio State, you gotta be the real deal," he said of the young players in the Buckeyes' secondary. "I'm not taking anyone lightly. Anybody that can touch that field, I’m prepared for. Being able to dig deep in film and understand what they’re about is definitely what I’ve definitely been doing lately.”

Cornerback Sevyn Banks did not play in their first game of the season. One report says he's recovering from a knee injury that kept him out of spring football and limited him during fall camp.

In 2020, he led his team with seven pass breakups. He had an interception as well as a fumble recovery for a touchdown.

Cornerback Cameron Brown was also missing for the Buckeyes' season opener, and a report said he didn't travel with the team to Minnesota. While Ohio State has yet to comment on his availability, he was working his way back to the field after sustaining an achilles injury. 

Senior safety Josh Proctor went down in the second half in their game against Minnesota and did not return, with what one report says it was a shoulder injury. Proctor had 20 tackles last season, as well as an interception and a fumble recovery.

Starting in the place of these three veteran Buckeyes defenders is redshirt freshman Ryan Watts and true freshman Denzel Burke in the cornerback positions, and sophomore Bryson Shaw at safety. All three of these players were able to see snaps against Minnesota, so they will be carrying that experience with them as they prepare for the Ducks.

Ohio State is expected to release an update on player availability Saturday morning around 9 a.m. (EST).

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