COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio State will be without one of its best players when the No. 3 Buckeyes face off against No. 7 Penn State at noon inside the Horseshoe.
OSU’s lockdown cornerback Denzel Burke is unavailable. While the initial injury report listed starting running back TreVeyon Henderson as out, a spokesperson confirmed to NBC4 that Henderson has been upgraded to questionable.
The Buckeyes will have Chip Trayanum, Miyan Williams and Dallan Hayden as options at running back. Williams was held out last week against Purdue while Trayanum suffered an injury late in the first quarter and did not return.
Ohio State could turn to true freshman cornerback Jermaine Mathews to fill in for Burke. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles could also move Jordan Hancock from the Nickle safety position, which is essentially a third cornerback, to outside cornerback and use Sonny Styles at Nickel position for most of the game.
Another notable injury to watch for is wide receiver Emeka Egbuka who’s listed as questionable after missing last week’s game with an ankle injury he suffered in the second half against Maryland. Below is the full availability report for the Buckeyes. If Egbuka is out, Ohio State will turn to captain Xavier Johnson and potentially freshman Carnell Tate.
Buckeyes unavailable vs. Penn State
- Nolan Baudo
- Denzel Burke
- Timothy Caffey
- Kyion Graves
- Zak Herbstreit
- Joe Royer
- Will Smith
- Reis Stockdale
- Kourt Williams II
Questionable
- Emeka Egbuka
- TreVeyon Henderson
