Kamryn Babb and Justin Hilliard have both been sidelined by injuries once again.
Ohio State confirmed Tuesday that Babb, a redshirt freshman wide receiver, and Hilliard, a fifth-year senior linebacker, are both out indefinitely after suffering injuries in recent spring practices that required surgery. Hilliard has already undergone surgery for his injury, while Babb will have surgery within the next week.
Ohio State did not disclose the nature of the injuries, but according to reports by Lettermen Row, Hilliard underwent surgery on Monday for an Achilles injury while Babb suffered a non-contact knee injury.
A five-star recruit in the class of 2015, Hilliard's Ohio State career has been plagued by injuries from the beginning. He was sidelined for nearly all of his first two seasons by biceps injuries. He was able to return to the field for the past two seasons, but played mostly on special teams, and is now entering his final season of eligibility.
Per Lettermen Row's Austin Ward, "sources with direct knowledge of the situation indicated that Hilliard could target a return in the middle of the season."
A four-star recruit who was ranked as the No. 73 overall prospect in the class of 2018, Babb has now suffered a knee injury in three consecutive years, having torn his right ACL during his senior year at Christian Brothers College High School and tearing his ACL last summer.
Babb came to Ohio State with high expectations, and was expected to be an impact player in the Buckeyes' wide receiver corps. Now, however, he faces the possibility of being sidelined for a second straight year to begin his Ohio State career, as Lettermen Row's report indicated that Babb's injury "will put his second year with the program in jeopardy."
The Buckeyes still have plenty of candidates to fill out their depth charts at both wide receiver and linebacker for this season, as it was already unclear this spring whether Hilliard or Babb would be in the rotations at their respective positions, but it ruins Hilliard's opportunity to compete for a starting spot in his final season as a Buckeye while it's another setback for Babb, who will now look to follow in the footsteps of Johnnie Dixon and overcome multiple knee injuries to start his Ohio State career.
