The Ohio State football team had a big problem at left tackle in their game against Nebraska. Losing Josh Simmons for the year turned into a bigger deal than we thought because his replacement was very bad. Zen Michalski was beaten badly on both pass plays and run plays.
Michalski ended up getting hurt in the fourth quarter of that game. The Buckeyes might now be on their third left tackle. That's certainly less than ideal as they get ready to face Penn State this week. It didn't look like Michalski was the solution, even when he was healthy.
Ryan Day was asked about the left tackle situation many times during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. He seemed to contradict himself a few times, He mentioned that they don't know if Michalski will play because of the injury, but that he is still an option for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State football team still might start Zen Michalski at left tackle
Day seems to think that Michalski could start on Saturday if he's healthy enough to play. He mentioned that Donovan Jackson could slide out to tackle as well if that doesn't happen. That seems like a much better option than putting Michalski back out there, even if he is healthy.
Putting Jackson out there would make Ohio State football fans happier than leaving Michalski out there. It's not like Jackson can be any worse than Michalski was against the Cornhuskers. All of the offensive line's issues don't fall on Michalski though. The entire unit played poorly.
Ohio State wasn't able to run the ball effectively, only gaining 2.1 yards per carry. They know they have to have a better effort against the Nittany Lions if they are going to win that game. The offensive line is now the number-one concern for the team this week.