Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes expect some players to be on 'pitch counts' vs. Iowa

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Buckeyes expect some players to be on ‘pitch counts’ vs. Iowa

The idle week gave Ohio State a major chance to get much healthier at plenty of positions.

But the Buckeyes may not have all of their weapons back at full capacity just yet when they take on Iowa in the Horseshoe this weekend.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day said this week that he does expect some players to be back from injury. But Thursday during his final media session before kickoff, Day did admit that the program will use pitch counts for some of its playmakers who are working back from injury.

“Those are the decisions that we continue to, for all of our guys, look at and try to figure out how many plays is the right number of plays for a guy,” Day said. “You hear people talk about a pitch count and things like that, we talk about those things all the time. That will be the case for some guys. … That’s part of the discussions going into the game for some guys.”

Ohio State is certainly healthier than it was last week. How much? That remains to be seen still.

Ohio State planning for full backfield this weekend

During his ‘lightning round’ press conference on Thursday afternoon, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he expects both TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams to be ready to go for the Noon kickoff inside the Horseshoe on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s great to have both of those guys back,” Day said Thursday afternoon during his last media appearance before kickoff on Saturday. “I think the bye week really helped both of them, and we’re looking to have a full-strength running back core.”

Day and the Buckeyes have remained quiet on injury updates a week after they were idle this week, but Day did seem optimistic that both of his No. 1 tailbacks will be able to tote the ball for the No. 2 team in the country on Saturday, a welcome sign for the best offense in America.

Henderson missed the Buckeyes blowout win over Rutgers, and Miyan Williams found the end zone five times and rushed for 189 yards in Henderson’s absence.

READ: Ryan Day, Buckeyes expect ‘full-strength’ backfield for Iowa matchup

ICYMI: Full coverage of Buckeyes preparations for Iowa

The Buckeyes will battle the Hawkeyes inside Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon for a Big Ten cross-divisional matchup. In preparation for the Buckeyes game against the Hawkeyes, they practiced Wednesday night and select players met with the media shortly after.

Spencer Holbrook and Tim May were back inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center after practice, breaking down how the Buckeyes are turning their focus to Iowa in the latest Practice Report presented by Byers Auto. Every Wednesday night following the media session with select Buckeyes players, Tim and Spencer will chat about what they saw Saturday night and look ahead to what to expect from Ohio State the next Saturday.

After hearing from major Buckeyes playmakers, the Lettermen Row crew is back for a full report on what it learned.

Don’t miss the Practice Report presented by Byers Auto with Spencer and Tim as they take a look at the Ohio State media session and talk about the Buckeyes.

Counting down

Buckeyes vs. Iowa: 1 day away

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 36 days away

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