Ryan Day, Ohio State Receive Unfortunate Injury News on Thursday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Jul 31, 2025 2:07 PM ET

The Ohio State Buckeyes are gearing up for an exciting 2025 season as they look to make a run at not only winning the Big Ten but also repeating as national champions.

They open up their season with a tough matchup on Aug. 30 against the Texas Longhorns, and with less than a month to go, the team is now at work to prepare, reporting for their first day of fall practices on Thursday.

Unfortunately, though, on the first day, the Buckeyes were hit with some unfortunate news, as Chase Brown of Eleven Warriors reported that defensive tackle Eddrick Houston appeared to suffer an injury and that head coach Ryan Day has yet to speak to trainers for further information.

How Could This Affect Ohio State's Defense?

Last season, Houston got his first taste of action as a redshirt freshman, appearing in 12 games, producing limited numbers with just seven tackles and two pass deflections, with no other stats.

However, in the 2025 NFL Draft alone, Ohio State lost four defensive linemen, including Tyleik Williams, J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer and Ty Hamilton, meaning a good amount of opportunity is set to open up.

Dave Biddle of 247Sports even stated that Houston "is in line to be the Buckeyes' starting 3-tech defensive lineman" after a slight position switch this offseason, going from defensive end to defensive tackle.

"I feel as though 3-tech is what's best for me right now," Houston said, according to Biddle. "I feel like I can produce just as well as I do on the edge. I have the strength and speed to do it, so I just gotta keep working every day to keep getting better."

Who Would Fill in for Ohio State?

Of course, there's hope that Houston's injury isn't anything serious, but if it is, it could be a huge blow for the team, as he and Kayden McDonald were projected to be the starting defensive tackles in 2025.

If Houston is out for an extended period of time, the team would need to turn to one of their backups, which could consist of Jason Moore, Will Smith Jr., Tywone Malone Jr. and Eric Mensah.

There's obviously no sure-fire way to predict who the exact replacement Ohio State would lean on, but it's worth noting that Malone did play in the most games last season out of all four backups, appearing in 11 games with eight tackles and one tackle for loss.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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