Ohio State is now out two offensive linemen for the rest of the 2024 season.
According to multiple reports, star center Seth McLaughlin suffered a torn Achilles during practice on Tuesday. McLaughlin has been one of the best centers in the country this season.
McLaughlin’s injury comes as Ohio State shuffles its offensive line to start left tackle Josh Simmons at Oregon after a knee injury. Guard Donovan Jackson, who had his own injury early in the season, played on the left side in Simmons’ absence.
McLaughlin, a fifth-year senior, transferred to Ohio State during the offseason. He came from Alabama, where he was the team’s starting center during Nick Saban’s final season. McLaughlin made 24 career starts at Alabama and appeared in 35 games over four seasons before coming to Columbus.
His injury means No. 2 Ohio State will have more movement in its offense ahead of Saturday’s big game against No. 5 Indiana. According to Rivals’ Dotting the Eyes, Carson Hinzman “seems like the best option” to fill McLaughlin’s spot at center.
Hinzman started at guard and Jackson at tackle. He was the team’s starting center as a redshirt freshman in 2023.
From Dotting the Eyes:
If Hinzman moves to center, sophomore Austin Siereveld could fit in at left guard. Siereveld started the first two games at left guard in place of the injured Jackson and then alternated some at right guard with Tegra Tshabola. In the past few weeks, Siereveld has been used as a backup late in games, but he at least has starting experience at left guard.
Another option would be to keep Hinzman at left guard and start redshirt freshman Josh Padilla at center. Padilla didn’t play at all last year and has logged 29 snaps this year, including three last week against Northwestern.
Ohio State’s offense is averaging 5.3 yards per carry and over seven yards per play this season. The Buckeyes have been fueled by a running game that features TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. The Ole Miss transfer is the team’s leading rusher with 121 carries for 723 yards and Henderson has 89 carries for 662 yards. No other player on the team has at least 200 yards.