Ohio State starting left tackle Josh Simmons will miss the rest of the 2024 season with a knee injury, coach Ryan Day confirmed Tuesday. Simmons was carted off the field in the second quarter of No. 4 Ohio State’s Week 7 loss to No. 1 Oregon.
The Buckeyes had a bye in Week 8 and host Nebraska on Saturday.
“He really had made a lot of progress and was playing very, very well,” Day said. “So a big loss, but got an opportunity for another guy to step up.”
Simmons’ loss is a huge blow for Ohio State, which has Big Ten championship and College Football Playoff aspirations. He has anchored the left side of Ohio State’s offensive line for almost two seasons now after transferring in from San Diego State.
He was first off the bench in all 13 of the Buckeyes’ games in 2023 and started all six of Ohio State’s games thus far in 2024. The Buckeyes are particularly thin at offensive tackle.
Redshirt junior Zen Michalski came off the bench when Simmons exited and played his first meaningful snaps of the year. He has played in 26 games over the last two years, but a majority of his snaps have come on special teams.
“Zen will be in there,” Day said. “Hope he’ll have a good week of practice this week. I thought he stepped up and did a nice job in the Oregon game. He’s a veteran guy who’s played a lot of football here in the program. Not as much in games, but goes against really good players everyday in practice.”
The Buckeyes also have redshirt sophomore George Fitzpatrick, a former four-star prospect, three-star freshman Deontae Armstrong available if need be.
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