Even though Garrett Wilson was seen working out with a group of injured players during the portion of Thursday's practice that was open to the media, Kevin Wilson says there's no reason to worry.
During his interview session at Ohio State on Friday, the offensive coordinator said the star wide receiver was not injured and was back practicing with the team on Friday, but that he was limited on Thursday because Ohio State is managing his workload ahead of the season after he ran more than anyone else this offseason.
“He was good today,” Kevin Wilson said. “I think we just had a situation with him where we’re just trying to minimize some workload, because he had the most work this summer of any player when they tracked distance ran and speed.”
As Ohio State prepares for a much-anticipated scrimmage on Saturday that could hold significant weight in setting the depth chart for the season opener (though it will unfortunately be closed to the media), OSU's practices ended earlier on Thursday and Friday after the Buckeyes held their first fully padded practices of camp earlier in the week.
Kevin Wilson said Ohio State director of sports performance Mickey Marotti has asked the coaches to be careful about the amount of running they put players through during preseason practices as they look to keep their players fresh not only for the Sept. 2 opener at Minnesota, but the entire season ahead.
“Coach Mick will look at running and say, ‘If you can, please do red zone 7-on-7.’ Sometimes, we’re doing that not for scheme, but to take the volume of running off,” Wilson said. “We’re talking not just to get to Saturday or not just to get to the opener, but as we go through the season, the wear and tear on these kids’ bodies.”
As for the other veteran players who were noticeably absent from Thursday's practice, Wilson said offensive lineman Thayer Munford has been “limited here for a day or two” but indicated that Munford will be fine, though he did not specify whether or not Munford was dealing with an injury. Defensive linemen Tyreke Smith and Jerron Cage were both seen leaving the practice field in uniform on Friday, and Cage was not wearing a sling on his arm, as he had been spotted wearing in an Instagram video earlier this week.
