Ryan Day won’t make any final declaration right now. The second-year head coach declines most questions about injuries, instead deferring to a status report put out by the team at 10 a.m. every Friday before Ohio State’s games.
So on Thursday afternoon, Day predictably declined to publicly answer a question about whether or not junior wide receiver Chris Olave will suit up for the Buckeyes in their road matchup with Penn State on Saturday. However, he added some optimism, mentioning that Olave – who exited the season opener against Nebraska after a hit to the helmet – has gone through practices this week.
“We put out the availability report, so we don't get too far into that,” Day said. “But he's had a good, strong week of practice.”
When asked Tuesday whether Olave would be active to face the Nittany Lions, Day had said “we'll see how it goes as the week goes along.”
Olave’s status was originally called into question when, while getting tackled following a catch by cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, safety Deontai Williams launched himself into the wide receiver’s upper body. Williams was not flagged for targeting.
Immediately after getting up, Olave left the game and did not return. Julian Fleming replaced him for the rest of the game.
Based on Olave’s ability to get through a week of practice and Garrett Wilson’s optimism a couple of days ago, though, all signs point to the third-year wideout not missing the top-20 showdown.
“I'm super confident (about Olave playing versus Penn State),” Wilson said on Tuesday. “I talked to Chris and he seems all good. So I think Chris is going to be ready to play on Saturday.”
As long as he’s proven correct, Wilson and Olave will soon have another opportunity to make a case for being college football’s best wide receiver duo under the lights in Happy Valley on Saturday night.
