The Ohio State Buckeyes encountered their first major obstacle of the 2025 season before they hit the field for their first practice. Defensive tackle Eddrick Houston was assisted off the field by two trainers at Thursday’s practice. This happened near the conclusion of what was supposed to be an encouraging first day of training camp.
Houston was favoring his right leg considerably after he went down on the indoor turf field. With the biggest defensive star, a sure-fire first-round pick, going down, Ohio State’s coaching staff had an immediate, alarming feeling seeing him being assisted to the locker room. Head coach Ryan Day understood the situation, but was hesitant to provide specific information.
“I haven’t talked to the trainers yet,” Day said when pressed about Houston’s health just after practice.
The coach’s hesitation showed the uncertainty surrounding one of his key defensive players.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, this was not ideal timing for this injury. Heading into the season, he was one of the trendy All-Big Ten selections. He was also the anchor to what would have been a potentially dominant defensive interior for Ohio State.
Ryan Day’s Defensive Tackle Depth Concerns Come to Life
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Eddrick Houston’s injury put an immediate spotlight on the worries for which the coaching staff had been waiting all offseason. Ohio State was wrestling with defensive tackle depth for months. The team even explored the transfer portal in depth before ultimately sticking with their roster.
Day has been transparent about the difficult decisions to say no to options in the portal. He laid out the reasoning for trusting their current players at Big Ten Media Days. The coach said that the staff believed in developing their guys as opposed to searching externally.
“They’re going to have to go do it on the field,” Day said last week. “Some of those guys have had very good springs. And so now they have to go do it.”
Eric Mensah filled Houston’s role in the drill when the injury happened. At the time, the defensive line was on two separate practice fields. This situation only slightly obscured the loss of Houston from the rotation.
Day had previously voiced some confidence in the development of depth pieces like Tywone Malone and Will Smith Jr. The developments in those players in spring practice and summer workouts were one of the reasons why the staff resisted bringing in external options. Now, their readiness will be required much sooner than anticipated.
“I think they’re bigger, stronger,” Day noted when discussing the group’s summer progress.
“Mick’s really pushed them. It’s been a hard summer for them.” Ryan added.
The coach had also been especially encouraged regarding the physical development of his defensive tackles.
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