Some of Ohio State's most prominent veterans weren't on the field with their teammates during the portion of Thursday's practice that was open to the media.
Star receiver Garrett Wilson was seen working out on a side field with a group of injured players that also included fellow wideout Kamryn Babb and linebacker Mitchell Melton – who have been in that workout group throughout preseason camp while continuing to rehab injuries they suffered this spring – as well as cornerback Lejond Cavazos, who had been on the field with his teammates in previous practices.
Several other veterans weren't seen on the practice field at all on Thursday morning, including offensive lineman Thayer Munford, defensive end Tyreke Smith and defensive tackle Jerron Cage.
That doesn't necessarily mean all of those players are hurt, as Ohio State could simply be managing the reps of veterans like Munford and Smith who have already played a lot of football for the Buckeyes and have dealt with injuries earlier in their careers. Following the first day of practice last week, Ryan Day said some players would be on “pitch counts” during camp in order to keep them healthy for the season.
Cage, however, appeared to be wearing a sling in a video that was posted to Instagram from inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center this week.
(UPDATE: Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said after Friday's practice that Garrett Wilson is healthy, and that he was limited on Thursday only because Ohio State wanted to manage his preseason workload. Wilson said Munford has been limited in practice for the past couple of days, too, but will be fine. Smith and Cage were both seen in uniform leaving practice on Friday, and Cage was not wearing a sling.)
On a more encouraging note from a health standpoint, Cody Simon was back on the field with the linebackers and appeared to be a full participant in practice after he was seen working out with other injured players on Tuesday.
Chris Olave was also seen getting some attention from trainers and spent the first couple of periods of practice running on his own on the sideline, but he ultimately returned to the field to go through wide receiver drills.
With Munford absent from practice, Matthew Jones took his place with the first-team offensive line at left guard. Nicholas Petit-Frere continued to practice at left tackle and Dawand Jones continued to practice at right tackle, with Harry Miller at center and Paris Johnson Jr. at right guard; Luke Wypler (center), Donovan Jackson (right guard) and Josh Fryar (right tackle) were also seen getting some reps with the first-team unit.
Practice footage
Aside from injuries, there wasn't a ton else to take away from the four periods of practice the media was permitted to watch on Thursday, which consisted mostly of individual drills and did not include any competitive settings between position groups. That said, here's a couple of videos of select running backs and wide receivers going through individual drills during the Buckeyes' eighth practice of the month.
Some wide receiver work from Thursdays Ohio State practice, beginning with an Emeka Egbuka one-handed catch. pic.twitter.com/dsZ5GD4X2m
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 12, 2021
