The Ohio State football team will be playing Oregon in just under 48 hours. It will be the first time that the Buckeyes have played in front of fans in two seasons and it’s against the 13th ranked team in the country. Unfortunately for that other team, they might be without their best player.
Based on what Mario Cristobal is saying, it sure looks like the Ducks won’t have the possible number one pick in next year’s Draft playing for them. Kayvon Thibodeaux hurt his ankle in the opener against Fresno State and has been wearing a boot all week.
Cristobal said today that Thibodeaux isn’t doing too much and they won’t push him too hard to make sure he can be ready as soon as possible. Take a look below at his full quote when asked about him.
.@oregonfootball HC Mario Cristobal on availability of star edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. Nursing lower left leg injury vs. Fresno. Sat out 2nd half in a boot. Regarded as possible top overall draft pick. @TheFeverABC6 pic.twitter.com/FXzaCKIjvk
— Clay Hall (@claywsyx6) September 9, 2021
I would say that it doesn’t sound good for Thibodeaux to play on Saturday. There isn’t a whole lot of time left in the week for him to get better. I’d be surprised if he did play, but not shocked. Thibodeaux is a tough kid and will try his hardest to be out there to help his team.
If Thibodeaux doesn’t play, the Buckeyes could run away with this game early. He is Oregon’s only reliable pass rusher. If C.J. Stroud can sit back in the pocket and make throws all day, this could get ugly very quickly. Oregon needs him on the field in the worst way.
We will keep you up to date on any update Cristobal gives about his start player, but he seems a little like Ryan Day in the fact that he doesn’t give out information on injuries before the game starts.