The past week of Ohio State's fall camp featured three days with double practice periods. It's commonly referred to as "hell week."
When coaches see a significant injury hit their team – like the one Braxton Miller suffered last year – that's when hell is real. Fortunately, the week leading up to fall semester was a bit more forgiving to the Buckeyes this season.
Mike Weber suffered camp's biggest setback, but will only miss another two or three weeks if his original prognosis holds true.
"Mikey's doing very well, he's walking without crutches right now. It was a meniscal tear and he had it fixed already," Urban Meyer said at a press conference, Saturday. "I would anticipate he won't be ready for [Virginia Tech], and there's a chance we won't redshirt him. He had a really good camp up until [the injury]."
Other Big Ten and national title contenders haven't been so lucky. Nebraska lost the dynamic De'Monrnay Pierson-El to a foot injury and he is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Michigan State senior linebacker Ed Davis is out for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury, a significant blow to what is typically a healthy and dominant defense.
Outside the conference, Oregon will not have the services of tailback Thomas Tyner after a shoulder injury. Plus, TCU's secondary is an even bigger concern after safety George Baltimore retired because of an assortment of shoulder issues.
At UCLA, Jim Mora Jr. is dealing with the nightmare scenario of replacing three offensive linemen who went down during camp. Considering Meyer mentioned the second-string offensive line as a place where he's looking for improvement, Ohio State fans are praying to the Lord of the Slobs for the starting unit's good health.
Other than the right tackle spot, Meyer knows exactly what he'll get from the o-line this season. He also has a deep and veteran receiving corps to go along with a Heisman favorite as the starting tailback.
As much as Meyer would like to push them to curtail any possibility of complacency, he knows increased reps can lead to a higher injury risk.
"That is a fine line ... with the Taylor Deckers of the world, the Pat Elfleins. Everyone is dealing with that issue," Meyer said. "Last year wasn't so much an issue because you didn't know. You had to go out and let them play a bunch. [Saturday], we had a big, long scrimmage but a lot of it was guys who haven't played. That's the number one thought of every coach at this time of year."
Braxton Miller is another experienced member on the offense, but he's learning a new position. The coaching staff is trying to maximize his reps, but his conditioning isn't where it needs to be.
That's not Miller's fault, he's just not used to the workload of a typical wide receiver.
"Braxton's life has not been spent running, running, running. Wide receivers, basically, put on track shoes and go for two hours," Meyer said. "[This] week is a big week for Braxton. He had a little, tight hamstring and we held him out [Saturday]. He should be ready to go Monday."
Three interior defensive linemen also missed Saturday's scrimmage. Mike Hill suffered a leg injury, Joel Hale pulled his calf muscle and Donovan Munger also had a minor injury. All are expected to return this week.
Overall, it's been a collection of typical fall camp scrapes and bruises.
"Mike Thomas, I held him out because of a bone bruise on his foot, but he's fine. He'll practice Monday. Dontre missed a few days just from a sore foot but he went [Saturday]," Meyer said. "So, we've made it to this point pretty good."
