Lathan Ransom did not travel with Buckeyes, will miss Rutgers game
PISCATAWAY, N.J. — Ohio State traveled to Rutgers on Friday for the Saturday afternoon game. The Buckeyes did so without one of their top defensive players.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day confirmed Friday after the Buckeyes made the trip to Piscataway that starting safety Lathan Ransom, an impact senior and one of the top defenders on the roster, did not make the trip with the team.
“He did not,” Day told reporters, including Lettermen Row’s Tim May, at the Ohio State team hotel on Friday afternoon.
Ransom left the Buckeyes win over Wisconsin after coming up limping on an incomplete pass. He first went to the medical tent before being lifted onto a cart and driven to the locker room. He did not return in that game.
While at first it looked bad for Ransom, Lettermen Row sources indicated that the Buckeyes avoided worst-case scenarios for Ransom.
This all comes after Day said earlier in the week that the Buckeyes might have an update on Ransom. They did not, and now he’s not playing this weekend at Rutgers.
READ: What’s next if Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom has to miss time?
“Yeah, I think we’ll probably have an update later in the week,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said of Ransom’s injury Tuesday. “We’re still trying to figure out kind of the timeline on that. But yeah, we definitely have a better idea, just not definitive.”
Ohio State is on its second straight road game this weekend after the win over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes will have to take on Rutgers without one of their key defensive playmakers. Lathan Ransom is out.
Latest on Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka
While Ransom is out this week, Ohio State is expecting to get star wide receiver Emeka Egbuka back in action after missing the last three games with an ankle injury.
Egbuka looked good in pregame warmups last weekend at Wisconsin but could not play.
Day made sure to answer definitively when he was asked about Egbuka’s status on Friday night.
“He’s here,” Day said. “And ready to go.”
This comes after Day had this to say earlier this week:
“He was available for the game on Saturday,” Day said. “We just didn’t feel like he was quite where he needed to be and had a bunch of guys step up for him. But looking for a full day of work here [Tuesday] and then a full week and then going in, we want him to be full go. But he was ready. And he’s working hard. He’s a tremendous young man. I mean, just the attitude that he’s had. He wants to get on the field. And he’s forced others to pull him back. That’s the attitude you want to have.
“It’s a great sign for your team when guys are just fighting to get back on the field, and he’s one of them.”
Finally, Egbuka is expected back for Ohio State when it faces Rutgers.
