Ohio State starting left guard Donovan Jackson is expected to return from an unspecified injury when the Buckeyes are back from an idle week against Marshall on Sept. 21.

“We’re going to give him one more week,” coach Ryan Day said, “and then he’ll be ready to go.”

While the Buckeyes made Jackson available in their 56-0 rout of Western Michigan on Saturday night, he did not make an appearance.

Standing on the Ohio Stadium sideline in uniform, he watched redshirt freshman Austin Siereveld start in his place for a second consecutive week and play nearly all of the snaps at the interior spot.

“If it was an emergency situation, we were going to put him in the game,” Day said. “He wanted to go in in the worst way.”

Speaking during his post-game news conference, Day added, "He could have played in this game."

But the Buckeyes have exercised caution with Jackson, their most experienced offensive linemen who has started since 2022, as they opened their season against two overmatched Mid-American Conference opponents.

“Our sports medicine crowd really wanted to hold him if possible,” Day said.

Even without Jackson, the Buckeyes’ offensive line cleared plenty of holes for their running backs. They amassed 273 yards on the ground, their most rushing yards since a win over Indiana in 2022.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @joeyrkaufman or email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football: LG Donovan Jackson expected back after idle week