Ohio State is still preparing to play Illinois this weekend.
The Buckeyes were on the practice field on Thursday morning for a Thanksgiving day practice, and head coach Ryan Day, quarterback Justin Fields and offensive linemen Thayer Munford, Josh Myers and Nicholas Petit-Frere were all among those on the practice field as Ohio State continued its preparation for the Illini.
Thankful to be out here playing the game we love #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/cH4fdC0blW
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 26, 2020
Following Thursday's practice, the Buckeyes ate a Thanksgiving meal together as a team, as players were discouraged from going home to see their families due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Breaking bread with our football family pic.twitter.com/VRbIQ4VyGm
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) November 26, 2020
Whether the Buckeyes would remain on schedule to play Illinois on Saturday came into question on Wednesday when news broke that Ohio State was dealing with an increase in positive COVID-19 tests within the program. A source indicated to Eleven Warriors that Ohio State had eight or nine positive tests on Wednesday and one positive test on Thursday morning, and that the Buckeyes held a walk-through rather than a full practice on Wednesday.
As of Thursday afternoon, though, Ohio State was still planning to travel to Champaign on Friday and play the Illini on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for noon on FS1.
It remains unclear which players have tested positive for COVID-19, as Ohio State does not confirm when players test positive. The program typically releases a status report on Friday mornings before each game indicating which players will be unavailable, though an Ohio State spokesperson said a decision will be made Friday morning whether to release this week's status report on Friday or wait until Saturday morning.
Any player who has tested positive this week will miss each of Ohio State's remaining three regular-season games, as Big Ten protocols require any player with a confirmed positive test to sit out 21 days before returning to competition.
