Ohio State Long Snapper Mason Arnold Sheds Black Stripe After First Start, Likely to Handle Snapping Duties for Remainder of Season

Arnold had his black stripe removed after practice Wednesday, with seventh-year senior long snapper Bradley Robinson – who is sidelined by a knee injury – handling the honor of Arnold’s stripe removal.

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Ryan Day acknowledged on his radio show Thursday that he was concerned about Arnold making his first start in a loud environment on the road considering Arnold hadn’t even lost his black stripe yet at the time, but Day was pleased with how Arnold stepped up under the circumstances.

“He didn't have his black stripe off going into the game, so that was a little nerve-racking, your long snapper going into State College in that environment. I can't tell you I slept very good the night before,” Day said. “But he executed very, very well and got his black stripe off this week. He earned it.”

Ohio State special teams coordinator Parker Fleming was also happy with Arnold’s performance against the Nittany Lions.

“He went in and played really well,” Fleming said Thursday. “We talk about competitive excellence, making a play when your number’s called, and he showed that on Saturday.”

Arnold, who has handled all of Ohio State’s long snaps since Robinson was injured in the third quarter of the Iowa game and even had a tackle against Penn State, is likely to remain Ohio State’s long snapper for the rest of the year, as Day indicated Thursday that Robinson is unlikely to return this season. Day didn’t fully commit to Arnold starting the rest of the season, though, saying that fellow redshirt freshman walk-on Max Lomonico will also travel with the team this week for the second week in a row.

“Expectation is for him to be the long snapper,” Day said of Arnold. “Max Lomonico will also travel this week, and we'll see how both of those guys do. But the expectation is for those guys to be the long snappers this year for the rest of the way.”

Robinson was injured while covering a punt in the third quarter of Ohio State’s 54-10 win over Iowa. As Robinson became engaged with an Iowa player while running down the field, his right knee appeared to buckle and he went down to the turf. Robinson had to be helped off the field and was seen on crutches with ice around his injured knee on the sideline.

Prior to his injury, Robinson had handled long-snapping duties for every Ohio State field goal, extra point and punt since the start of the 2020 season. After receiving a second year of additional eligibility from the 2022 season, Robinson – who began his career at Michigan State before transferring to Ohio State after one year – chose to return to OSU for a third season as the starting long snapper and to pursue a Ph.D in kinesiology.

Robinson was regarded as one of the best long snappers in college football before his injury, as he was a 2021 semifinalist for the Patrick Mannelly Award. Now, however, the Buckeyes will be counting on Arnold to handle that responsibility with Robinson’s final season of college football likely over.

Arnold was one of two Ohio State walk-ons to lose his black stripe this week along with redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jack Forsman. Together, they are the 21st and 22nd Buckeyes to have their black stripes removed in 2022.