One of the biggest questions of the week leading to Ohio State’s away game against Purdue involved injury news. We got a pretty good indication that running back TreVeyon Henderson would be ready to jump back into the starting lineup from head coach Ryan Day on Tuesday, but receiver Emeka Egbuka’s status seemed up in the air.
We didn’t hear much the rest of the week, but upon the Buckeyes arrival in West Lafayette, Day confirmed Egbuka did not make the trip and is not ready to get back on the field. The news was first reported by Tim May of Lettermen Row and confirmed by other sources as well as Day and the team arrived at their hotel Friday.
.@ryandaytime confirms upon arrival here in Lafayette, Ind., that wr @emeka_egbuka did not make trip, recovering from lower leg injury suffered vs MD. Day touched on several subjects, including weather, run game, etc. headed toward Saturday noon kickoff at Purdue. pic.twitter.com/ob0D9V4xCk
— Tim May (@TIM_MAYsports) October 13, 2023
Ohio State is no stranger to injuries to its star wideouts. Last season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered a hamstring injury against Notre Dame in Game 1 and never returned to the field fully healthy.
That opened the door for the breakout season of Marvin Harrison Jr., but he, too, has battled ankle injuries. He is playing on the most recent one, suffered against Notre Dame, this season. That didn’t seem to slow him last week against Maryland, but that’s because he probably wears a Louis Vuitton cape in his spare time.
In Egbuka’s absence, you have to believe Xavier Johnson will take the starting spot. Expect Julian Fleming and tight end Cade Stover to get more targets, and we might get to see Carnell Tate get a little more run to see what he can do in Egbuka’s absence as well.
Here’s to hoping that Egbuka is close to 100% and in the lineup against Penn State next weekend.
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