The junior had been one of the Buckeyes’ best blockers, but Day said they plan to move forward with junior Zen Michalski the rest of the season.
“Thought he stepped up and did a nice job in the Oregon game,” Day said Tuesday when he met the media for the first time in preparation for Ohio State’s homecoming game against Nebraska on Saturday. “He’s a veteran guy who’s played a lot of football here in the program. Not as much in games, but he goes against really good players every day in practice. So I think he was able to go into that game in a big environment and build confidence coming out of it.”
The coaching staff also will consider contingency plans, such as moving guard Donovan Jackson or Tegra Tshabola to tackle and inserting Austin Siereveld at guard, and take a look at different options in practice.
“We will rotate guys too, but that’s pretty normal anyways,” Day said. “We’ll have three groups in there, and then even when we’re going against the scout team or ones versus twos, you have the first group, and then you have the second group. So those guys are all getting reps, but we will roll guys, too.”
The 6-foot-6, 319-pound Michalski was a four-star prospect in the class of 2021 coming out of Floyds Knob, Ind.
He took a redshirt in 2021 and lettered the past two seasons, when he also earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition.
Day said the Buckeyes will also be without No. 2 tight end Will Kacmarek for an extended period of time, though he did not identify the senior’s injury.
While senior Gee Scott Jr. is the team’s No. 1 tight end, Kacmarek was carving out a role as one of the team’s better blockers at that position.
Day said Patrick Gurd, Jelani Thurman and Bennett Christian will have to take more reps in his place.
“We’re gonna have to put them in there, but they’ve been training,” Day said. “They’ve been working. They’ve been practicing. They don’t miss any reps, but now they’re gonna be thrust into it.”
The 6-6, 260-pound Bennett was a four-star recruit coming out of Acworth, Ga., in the class of 2022, but he missed all of last season after testing positive for a banned substance.
He has seen action in all six games this season and caught two passes for 61 yards and a touchdown.
“Bennett’s gotten better,” Day said. :He’s gotten a lot better. Spring, he made some progress. Preseason, he started to see some more. He started to get more consistent, and then as the season’s gone on, you’ve seen him improve, and now he’s doing it in game.
“So his physicality’s gonna help us, and he’s done a good job running routes as well. So it’s time for him to play anyways.”
The 6-6, 258-pound Thurman is also a Georgia native. The son of former Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman, he was a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 70 overall recruit as a senior at Langston Hughes High School and arrived in Columbus with great expectations.
He has played in five games this season and caught one pass for three yards.
“We knew this was gonna happen,” Day said. “This is a great example, second half of the season, here we go, but now they’re gonna be put into it.”
SATURDAY’S GAME
Nebraska at Ohio State, Noon, FOX, 1410
About the Author
