Phillip Daniels, Zion Grady Doubtful For Ohio State-Illinois
TLDR: Ohio State downgraded right tackle Phillip Daniels and EDGE Zion Grady to doubtful for Saturday's Big Ten opener against Illinois, while LSU transfer Kyle Parker moved up to probable and should finally make his Buckeyes debut.
The Friday night availability report is where college football injury news actually lives now, and this one wasn't the one Buckeyes fans were hoping for. All week, Daniels and Grady had been listed as questionable, which left room to think they'd both be back for the start of conference play. That room is basically gone.
Ohio State offensive tackle Phillip Daniels and EDGE Zion Grady have been downgraded to doubtful for Saturday vs. Illinois. t.co/rdeivz1u6W
Both guys got hurt in the loss at No. 1 Texas 2 weeks ago, with lower-body injuries, according to reports, and neither played the next week against Kent State. So none of this is new. What's new is that Ohio State isn't pretending anymore. Doubtful on the Friday report pretty much means you'll see them in sweats, and the Buckeyes open the Big Ten slate in Columbus with 2 starters most likely out, one on each line.
The Kent State game already showed us the plan. Austin Siereveld slid out from right guard to right tackle, Gabe VanSickle took over at guard, and Qua Russaw started at defensive end. Behind Russaw, the edge rotation leans on Beau Atkinson, Epi Sitanilei and Khary Wilder. Handling Kent State that way is one thing. Doing it against a Bret Bielema Illinois team that lives in the trenches is a much bigger ask, and whoever's setting the price on this game has to account for that shuffled right side.
There is some good news on the other side of the ball. Kyle Parker, who came over from LSU in January, still hasn't played a snap for Ohio State after an undisclosed injury wrecked most of his fall camp and kept him out from the opener against Ball State on.
Ohio State WR Kyle Parker has been upgraded to probable and is on track to make his debut with the Buckeyes on Saturday. Former LSU transfer. t.co/5qZb7jGxGv
Parker isn't going to be the Buckeyes' first read, but he's a real player. Last season at LSU he caught 31 passes for 330 yards and 4 touchdowns, and in Columbus he's back with receivers coach Cortez Hankton, who coached him in Baton Rouge. For an offense that's been sputtering near the goal line since Austin, one more body who can win a contested ball counts for a lot. Ohio State has cashed only 2 of 5 red zone trips since the Texas game, after going 12 of 17 before it.
Here's what to watch Saturday: whether Daniels or Grady shows up in warmups at all, how Siereveld holds up at tackle against a real Big Ten front, and whether Parker gets meaningful snaps or just a toe in the water. A doubtful tag isn't a ruling, but you'd be dumb to bet on these 2 playing. The Buckeyes are trying to start conference play with a win and bounce back from Texas, and they'll probably have to do it with patched-up lines and a debuting receiver.
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