LG Donovan Jackson expected back in Ohio State lineup for Marshall game

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is expecting senior left guard Donovan Jackson back in the lineup for this week’s game against Marshall.

“Yeah, he’s ready to roll,” Day said Tuesday. “As long as we have a good week of practice, he’ll be ready to go for Saturday.”

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Jackson missed the first two games of the season with an undisclosed injury. He was technically available to play in Week 2 against Western Michigan, but the Buckeyes ultimately held him out during the 56-0 rout of the MAC’s Broncos.

“Donovan came back for a reason,” Day explained. “He wants some hardware, man. He wants to play. He didn’t come back to just watch the game on the sidelines. It took everything we had to kind of hold him back from that game. He was available in an emergency role. He could have played.

“But all the information that we had gotten from our doctors and sports medicine led us to believe that, unless he was really needed, it didn’t make sense to put him on a ‘pitch count’ in that game.”

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Instead, redshirt freshman Austin Siereveld started in Jackson’s place, as was the case in Week 1, which saw Ohio State blow out another MAC foe, Akron, 52-6.

Siereveld had some big shoes to fill considering Jackson is a three-year starter and was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree last season. But the Buckeyes were pleased with the effort the second-year lineman turned in — so much so that Day’s been insistent that Siereveld will still contribute in some capacity going forward.

“He’s going to still play, and we’ll figure out how that looks,” Day said. “But he’s done a nice job in the first couple games for stepping in in that spot. I think that’s provided us some depth that we didn’t know we had going into the preseason.”

Siereveld won’t, however, take the spot of redshirt sophomore Tegra Tshabola. Like Siereveld, Tshabola made his first two career starts in Week 1 and Week 2. Both came at right guard, where he beat out Carson Hinzman in training camp. Day confirmed Tuesday that Tshabola will continue to start at right guard for the Buckeyes.

Siereveld could play the role of an extra tackle in the “Bison” package Ohio State has used in years past, or he could rotate in at guard.

Regardless of how the Buckeyes handle Siereveld’s playing time, they’ll be counting on Jackson to further the steps they’ve taken so far on the offensive line.

“I just think this solidifies everything up front,” Day said of Jackson’s return. “[Center] Seth [McLaughlin] has done a very, very good job of communicating across the board. He brings a certain level of experience and stability in there with the communication.

“Now you add Donovan into it. I mean, that’s two guys with a lot of experience. They’re good communicators. They’re very sharp. I think just, overall, everyone’s going to be on the same page even more. It will allow guys to communicate well, because that’s important. Everything up front is about communication. So the more these guys can communicate and get everybody on the same page, the better we can execute.”

Jackson posted a better pass blocking grade in 2023 (72.7) than in 2022 (60.7) but logged a worse run blocking grade as a junior (67.3 in 2023 vs. 80.1 in 2022), according to Pro Football Focus. After a slow start last season, Jackson had two three-game streaks without a pressure conceded.

The second of those two streaks was snapped at Michigan, where he, most notably, tripped over Hinzman — starting at center at the time — and let a stunting Jaylen Harrell burst through the trenches and get a hit on quarterback Kyle McCord before his game-ending interception.

Jackson has turned the page from that Michigan moment and is back for 2024 with a chance to improve his draft stock and help the Buckeyes’ O-Line continue what could be a bounce-back season.

Jackson’s senior campaign was put on pause. He’s on track to press play Saturday against Marshall.