Injuries should thin some of Ohio State's special teams units even more.
The return from injury of linebacker Andrew Sweat should help out both the OSU defense and its special teams this week against Eastern Michigan.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's No. 3 cornerback, Travis Howard, is expected to miss at least this week's game with Easter Michigan, OSU coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday. That means redshirt freshman Corey Brown slides in as the top backup at corner and Dominic Clarke would be the next man in.
But defense isn't where he may be missed the most. Howard was also a member of the problematic kick coverage unit, as was backup linebacker Dorian Bell, another player Tressel said would be out this week with an injury. Bell caused a fumble on a kickoff against Marshall in the opener and was typically the first man down the field and was the Buckeye who drew the block-in-the-back penalty that nullified Ohio's kickoff return for a touchdown on Saturday.
The Buckeyes shifted some personnel last week and will have to do so again this week, though Tressel thought the coverage improved after that initial close call against Ohio.
"As the kicks went on, I thought our fundamentals and techniques got a little bit better there," Tressel said of Saturday's coverage performance.
Special teamer Donnie Evege is expected to miss several weeks with an elbow injury as well, Tressel said. But linebacker Andrew Sweat and running back Carlos Hyde are expected back from injuries this week and should rejoin some of the special team units.
Tressel on the Brutus attack: Tressel began his injury report Tuesday with Brutus, the Ohio State mascot who was tackled by the Ohio Bobcats mascot before Saturday's game, an act that gained national attention and brought an apology from Ohio.
"I was standing at the National Anthem and I heard some of our guys talking, 'hey, did you see that mascot?' And I'm thinking, 'you're thinking about the mascot?'" Tressel said, before explaining how he learned the whole story.
Tressel said he checked in with Brutus at an event on Monday night.
"I asked him if he was going to be ready for Saturday," Tressel said, "and he's probable from an injury report standpoint."
Class time: Ohio State students, football players included, begin class Wednesday. For the first three weeks of the season, the Buckeyes were able to focus on only football.
"You've just got to be able to get your rest and be organized," tight end Jake Stoneburner said. "Obviously you have class in the morning and we've got to make sure we go and can still be able to commit a lot of time to football."
Tressel was ready for his players to do something else. He's glad to see them off their sofas and playing fewer video games.
"I don't know that while we weren't in school that our guys were working on football eight hours a day," Tressel said. "They probably had a little bit more of a leisurely pace. .. Now they're going to be much more on a boom, boom, boom schedule, which in some ways I think will be good because we'll get into a flow."