Ohio State football starters Cody Simon, Donovan Jackson among players out for Akron game
Ohio State will be without two senior starters in its season opener against Akron on Saturday.
On the availability report the Buckeyes submitted to the Big Ten, both linebacker Cody Simon and offensive lineman Donovan Jackson were listed as out.
Five others will also be unavailable, including two scholarship players between freshman offensive lineman Devontae Armstrong and redshirt freshman safety Jayden Bonsu.
None of them are expected to be out for an extended period of time. After a practice on Wednesday night, coach Ryan Day said the Buckeyes were evaluating the statuses of only a couple of players.
“Nothing long term,” he said.
The exception is TC Caffey, a walk-on running back who suffered a season-ending knee injury during summer workouts.
The availability report did not specify the nature of the players’ injuries. The Big Ten asks for teams only to list them as questionable or out before the reporters are made public two hours ahead of kickoff.
Without Simon, the Buckeyes will need a temporary replacement for him at middle linebacker against the Zips. Simon, who previously started at the Mike spot in 2021, has been taking over for Tommy Eichenberg, who left for the NFL after last season.
Available linebackers include Sonny Styles, who has been set to start on the weak side, as well as C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers and Arvell Reese. Hicks had been competing with Styles at weak-side linebacker.
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The absence of Simon will also require the Buckeyes to find another candidate on defense to wear a helmet equipped with the new coach-to-player communication. One player on offense and defense can be on the field at a time with a speaker in their helmet.
The technology allows them to communicate with coordinators until the play clock reaches 15 seconds.
Ohio State also has a handful of options to start in place of Jackson at left guard. Those include Carson Hinzman, who started at center last season and competed with Tegra Tshabola to start at right guard in preseason training camp, as well as second-year interior linemen Luke Montgomery and Austin Siereveld.
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 starters Cody Simon, Donovan Jackson out for Akron game
