Ohio State will be without both of its starting linebackers and three of its top four wide receivers for the remainder of spring.
Steele Chambers was seen on crutches while Xavier Johnson was not in uniform and wearing a walking boot during Friday’s spring practice at Ohio State, and Ryan Day confirmed after practice that they will be out for the rest of the spring.
Both of them are expected to be back on the field for preseason camp.
“He’ll be back. He’ll have a procedure done, but he'll be back for preseason and should have a pretty good summer,” Day said when asked about Chambers. “Xavier is probably a little bit longer, but still we'll have him for the summer. It's not going to be something that's going to affect him in the preseason.
With Tommy Eichenberg unavailable for the entire spring following offseason surgery and Arvell Reese not yet enrolled, Ohio State is now down to just four scholarship linebackers for the remainder of spring practices: Cody Simon, C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers and Reid Carrico. Simon and Hicks took the majority of first-team reps at linebacker during Friday’s practice while Powers, Carrico and walk-ons Jackson Kuwatch and Jalen Pace all took reps with the second team.
Johnson, meanwhile, joins Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming on the unavailable list at wide receiver. With Johnson and Egbuka both sidelined, Marvin Harrison Jr. has seen extensive work in the slot in each of the last two practices that have been open to the media, while Jayden Ballard and Carnell Tate have gotten most of the first-team reps at the outside receiver spots.
In better injury news, offensive tackle Zen Michalski was back on the field Friday after missing Ohio State’s Student Appreciation Day scrimmage last Saturday. Safety Ja’Had Carter was in uniform for Friday’s practice, though he did not take any reps during team drills, after suffering a knee injury Saturday.
