In speaking with Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch on Monday, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day revealed that senior starting safety Jordan Fuller and starting junior left tackle Thayer Munford will miss spring football with undisclosed injuries.
Fuller is entering his third season as a starter, so he wasn’t likely to get overloaded with practice reps this camp anyway. His absence will allow for more opportunities for younger players looking to find a role on this Ohio State defense.
Munford started every game for the Buckeyes at left tackle last season as a true sophomore and played well. He is still a young player, so a spring camp against the likes of Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper would have been helpful.
In his place will be a number of competitors.
It was expected that fifth-year senior Josh Alabi and sophomore Nicholas Petit-Frere would compete for the open right tackle job, but now one of them will likely be working at left tackle. This will allow offensive line coach Greg Studrawa to gather more information when it comes time to make a decision.
Munford’s absence could also allow fifth-year senior Branden Bowen to get involved and compete for a spot. His versatility makes his destination difficult to predict.
In the secondary, meanwhile, with Brendon White apparently moving to linebacker, there is an open starting safety spot next to Jordan Fuller.
Fuller’s absence might actually be a blessing in disguise, as secondary coaches Jeff Hafley and Matt Barnes will now be able to look at more players in the same amount of practices.
Instead of competing against each other, now you may see players like sophomore Josh Proctor and junior Isaiah Pryor playing together on the same back line. Redshirt freshman Marcus Hooker and junior Amir Riep will also receive more reps now as well.
And we’ll see where redshirt sophomore Shaun Wade starts out.
Spring practice gets underway early Wednesday morning. The Buckeyes will practice twice this week.