Ohio State removed its first black stripe of preseason camp on Thursday.
Transfer center Victor Cutler Jr., who joined the Buckeyes in January when he transferred to Ohio State from Louisiana-Monroe, became the first player to have his stripe removed during this year’s preseason camp following the Buckeyes’ seventh practice of camp on Thursday.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 10, 2023
Newest member of the O-Line, welcome to the brotherhood, @CutlerVictor pic.twitter.com/iEIlYQtWGY
The black stripe removal comes one day after Ryan Day praised Cutler at his Wednesday press conference, saying that Cutler is making a push in the competition with Carson Hinzman to be Ohio State’s starting center this season.
“I think that competition has heated up between Vic and Carson,” Day said. “I think a full offseason in our program, I think he's changed his body. I think he understands what we're trying to do now. And the resources that we have here. So he's a different looking body than he was in the spring.”
Cutler is the third of this year’s spring transfers to have his black stripe removed, joining former Ole Miss cornerback Davison Igbinosun and Oregon State quarterback Tristan Gebbia. Other newcomers who had their black stripes removed during spring practices included true freshmen Carnell Tate, Jelani Thurman and Malik Hartford.
Fellow transfer offensive lineman Josh Simmons also had his stripe removed Thursday, becoming the first of this year’s summer enrollees to “officially” become a Buckeye.
| PLAYER | POS | DATE | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| TEGRA TSHABOLA | OT | MARCH 23 | R-FRESHMAN |
| GEORGE FITZPATRICK | OT | MARCH 23 | R-FRESHMAN |
| DAVISON IGBINOSUN | CB | MARCH 25 | SOPHOMORE |
| CARNELL TATE | WR | MARCH 25 | FRESHMAN |
| TRISTAN GEBBIA | QB | APRIL 1 | GRADUATE |
| QUINTON BURKE | OL | APRIL 1 | SENIOR |
| JELANI THURMAN | TE | APRIL 7 | FRESHMAN |
| MALIK HARTFORD | S | APRIL 7 | FRESHMAN |
| CHASE BRECHT | RB | APRIL 7 | SOPHOMORE |
| CHAD RAY | QB | APRIL 12 | R-JUNIOR |
| VICTOR CUTLER JR. | C | AUG. 10 | GRADUATE |
| JIMMY SIMMONS | OT | AUG. 10 | R-SOPHOMORE |
Cutler is entering his fifth year as a college football player but his first as a Buckeye after spending four years at Louisiana-Monroe, where he started 29 games over the past three years including all 12 of the Warhawks’ games at left tackle in 2022. The 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive lineman is focusing on playing the center position in Columbus.
