Ohio State’s first injury report of the week brought a mix of encouraging signs and a few familiar absences as the Buckeyes get ready for USC.
The biggest takeaway: several key pieces were either cleared or not listed, while a handful of players remained sidelined heading into Saturday’s matchup. The report was the first of four Ohio State will release this week.
Kenyatta Jackson was not listed after getting hurt late in Ohio State’s win at Indiana on Oct. 17. Jackson played through the injury on the Buckeyes’ final defensive snap, then was helped off the field after the game.
Austin Siereveld was also not listed, and Ohio State expects him back at tackle after missing the Maryland and Indiana games with an illness. Ryan Day said Wednesday that Siereveld should be available against USC.
“Whether he’s able to play a full game or not, we’ll kind of see,” Day said Wednesday. “He’s had a full week of practice. He’ll be available, and he’ll be ready to go on Saturday.”
John Walker, who was injured against Indiana, also landed on the not listed side. Walker played 41 snaps in that win.
Khary Wilder, meanwhile, was not listed after not appearing since Ohio State’s win over Illinois on Sept. 26.
On the other side of the ledger, Julian Sayin was listed as out. He is expected to be out indefinitely, and Day has said the Buckeyes are preparing to go without him for the rest of the season.
Leroy Roker was also out. He has not played since Ohio State beat Iowa on Oct. 3, and he remains an important piece in the dime package.
Ja’Kobi Jackson stayed out as well. He has been sidelined since the Maryland game on Oct. 10, and a report from Eleven Warriors said he hopes to return by The Game against Michigan.
Max LeBlanc was listed out too. He has logged 73 snaps this season, including 10 at Indiana.
Jay Timmons showed up as questionable after dealing with an injury for several weeks. He missed the Iowa and Maryland games, returned against Indiana, then missed most of the second half in that game. Day said Wednesday the plan was for Timmons to travel to USC.
Brandon Inniss was also questionable. Ohio State’s starting slot receiver has topped 20 snaps in a game only once since the Buckeyes’ Week 2 win at Texas.
In Other News...
Ohio State Just Got A New Warning About USC Trip
USCs latest trip into Big Ten country offered Ohio State a useful reminder of what can happen when the Trojans get pushed off script. In a loss to Wisconsin, Lincoln Rileys offense was held to seven points and 241 total yards, its lowest output under his watch, after the Badgers crowded the run game and kept pressure on quarterback Jayden Maiava. For a Buckeyes defense that will soon see USC in person, that kind of tape is worth a long look.
The bigger takeaway is not just that Wisconsin found a way to slow the Trojans, but how it did it. By forcing USC to play from behind the chains and make Maiava work under duress, the Badgers exposed a path other defenses may try to copy, and Ohio State is likely paying attention. The Buckeyes still have to do their own work on the game plan, but USCs stumble has already given them a clearer picture of where the pressure points might be. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Heads To USC With Two Defensive Questions Lingering
Ohio State left its win over Indiana with more than a victory to sort through, as the Buckeyes now have a few injury concerns hanging over the trip to USC. Ryan Day said the status of defenders Jay Timmons and Kenyatta Jackson remains unclear, and the timing is less than ideal with a Big Ten road game looming and the team trying to keep its focus on the next opponent.
The Buckeyes are still navigating the fallout from a physical Saturday, including the likely season-ending injury to Julian Sayin, so the defensive picture adds another layer of uncertainty. Even with the schedule moving forward, Ohio States attention is now split between preparing for USC and waiting to see which pieces of its defense will actually be available once the game gets here. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Days Recruiting Run Is Raising Ohio States Ceiling Fast
The Ohio high school regular season is finished, and now the playoff focus across the state shifts to a crowded bracket of 336 teams in seven divisions. For Ohio State, though, the bigger long-range storyline is happening on the recruiting trail, where Ryan Day and his staff have already put together an unusually early foundation for the 2027 class.
That group already includes 20 commitments, among them six national top-100 players and the countrys No. 1 overall prospect, DJ Jacobs. The momentum does not stop there, either, with five 2028 commitments and one in the 2029 class already on board, giving the Buckeyes a pipeline that reaches years into the future and keeps pushing the programs ceiling higher. [Read more 🡒]