Williams Out, Chekwa Questionable for Marshall
By Brandon Castel
COLUMBUS —Ohio State could be without two defensive starters Thursday when the second-ranked Buckeyes take the field against Marshall in the season-opener.
They will definitely be without one, Jim Tressel confirmed Monday, as starting defensive end Nathan Williams will miss the game with an injured left knee.
“Nate won't go on Thursday,” Tressel said. The 6-foot-3, 260-pound junior out of Washington Court House was expected to replace Thad Gibson as the starting Leo this fall, but he has been recovering from a knee injury suffered prior to the team’s kick scrimmage back on Aug. 14. Junior Solomon Thomas is likely to start in place of the injured Williams, who could back on the field by week two for Ohio State’s primetime matchup with Miami, Fla.
“Oh, yeah. That's what he says,” said Tressel, who also talked about the possibility of playing freshman J.T. Moore as the backup Leo on Thursday.
“Now, if Miami were on Thursday, he wouldn't be ready.”
The other starter the Buckeyes could be missing against the Thundering Herd is senior cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, who has been battling a hamstring injury throughout the last two weeks.
“Chimdi's working part of the time and I think our evaluation will come today as to just if he's a hundred percent ready,” Tressel said.
A three-year starter out of Clermont, Fla., Chekwa is expected to be Ohio State’s top corner this season and if he can’t go in the opener, the Buckeyes would likely turn to another Florida native in redshirt sophomore Travis Howard. Although Howard has looked good playing with the first-team defense during camp, Chekwa’s absence could leave the Buckeyes vulnerable in the secondary, where they are breaking in two new starters at the safety positions.
One of the those new starters was projected to be redshirt sophomore Orhian Johnson, who took nearly all the snaps with the first-team defense in the spring. But Johnson was listed as the backup to sophomore C.J. Barnett on the official Marshall depth chart, a move Tressel said was based on performance as much as it was on health.
“I think it was a little bit of both. Just like anything else you get opportunities and you have a chance to get more reps and things like that and you impress. C. J. has been very impressive,” Tressel said.
“That doesn't mean Orhian is not in the thick of a battle. But like anything else, if one guy is in there doing the work and he's getting better and the other guy unfortunately missed, I don't know how many practices he missed, but it was probably a dozen or more, I'm guessing, it makes it more difficult. But good competition will continue at that position.”
The 6-foot-2 Johnson had been battling a lower leg injury throughout the latter half of camp, but both he and starting corner Devon Torrence should be ready to go for the season-opener.
“Orhian Johnson and Devon Torrence worked the whole time yesterday and they'll be fine,” Tressel said.
Even with Torrence available, the Buckeyes could start as many as six new players on the defense Thursday if Chekwa is unable to go. Along with Barnett, Howard and Thomas, the new faces in the starting lineup would include defensive tackle John Simon, linebacker Andrew Sweat and defensive back Tyler Moeller, who is playing in his first game in over year after suffering a severe head injury off the field last summer.
“He hasn't played for a year and he knows he's got to get better every day and catch up, but he's done a nice job,” Tressel said of the senior from Cincinnati Colerain.
“He's starting in our Star position, which we think will be in nickel a lot, if what we understand is that (Marshall) is going to be all spread out and doing that stuff. But who knows, they could come in with two tights and a wish bone for all we know.”
That’s because the Thundering Herd are in their first season under new head coach Doc Holliday, who comes over after two seasons as associate head coach at West Virginia. Prior to that, Holliday was associate head coach and safeties coach at the University of Florida during their 2006 BCS National Championship win over Ohio State.
Terrelle Pryor is number 11 on Pat Forde's Top 40 Dashes this College Football Season.
Terrelle Pryor (11), Ohio State quarterback. He is the most talented physical specimen in college football. He became the first Buckeye QB since World War II to lead his team in both rushing and passing. He is a Heisman candidate despite playing in the Most Conservative Offense in the World. Ideal MIMITW scene: Removing a bear's paw from a steel trap.
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