Ohio State head coach Ryan Day announced Tuesday at his weekly press conference held at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center that he expects senior offensive lineman Donovan Jackson will make his 2024 debut in the Buckeyes’ Week 4 matchup against Marshall on Saturday.
“He’s ready to roll,” Day said. “As long as we have a good week of practice, he’ll be ready to go for Saturday.”
Jackson, a back-to-back first-team All-Big Ten selection at left guard for the Buckeyes in 2022 and 2023, likely returns to the lineup after missing the first two games of the season with an undisclosed injury. The senior did warm up with the team in full uniform for both games, but Day said that although it was tough to keep him off the field, they were only going to use him in an emergency situation against Western Michigan.
“Donovan came back for a reason. He wants some hardware. He wants to play. He didn’t come back to just watch the game from the sidelines,” Day said. “It took everything we had to hold him back from that game, and he was available in an emergency role.
“He could’ve played. But all the information that we got from our doctors and sports medicine led us to believe that, unless he was really needed, it didn’t make sense to put him on a ‘pitch count’ in that game, but to hold him if possible. So we made that decision, which was not easy for him to hear or do.”
Jackson now reclaims his starting spot at right guard from redshirt freshman Austin Siereveld, who earned most of the starting reps at that position through Ohio State’s first two games. Although Day said that Siereveld’s strong performance at left guard has compelled them to find him some more playing time as the season progresses, he added that Jackson’s return to the starting lineup will provide another veteran voice and body to an Ohio State front five that is looking to make vast improvements from last year.
“I just think this solidifies everything up front,” Day said. “Seth (McLaughlin) has done a very, very good job of communicating across the board. He brings a certain level of experience and stability in there with the communication. Now you add Donovan into it, that’s two guys with a lot of experience.
“They’re good communicators. They’re very sharp. I think just overall, everyone’s going to be on the same page even more…Everything up front is about communication. So the more these guys can communicate and get everybody on the same page, the better we can execute.”
