Ohio State starting safety Lathan Ransom will not play against Nebraska on Saturday.
Ransom, who was listed as out on the Buckeyes’ pregame availability report, has been dealing with an unspecified injury. Following a practice earlier this week, coach Ryan Day described him as “day to day.”
A Lisfranc injury to Ransom’s left foot cut short his season last fall, resulting in him missing the final five games.
But Ransom, returning for his final season of eligibility, had gotten healthy and was one of the Buckeyes’ top tacklers through six games. His 29 tackles are the second-most among the Buckeyes as he has been a consistent presence on the field. Only fellow safety Caleb Downs has played more snaps on defense, per Pro Football Focus.
It’s possible that Ransom could return at some point next month. Day said Wednesday that Ransom’s injury is not long-term.
Sophomore Malik Hartford and freshman Jaylen McClain are the backups at safety who could see more snaps in place of Ransom this week against the Cornhuskers, though the Buckeyes have several options to reconfigure their secondary.
Nickelbacks Jordan Hancock and Lorenzo Styles Jr. could also move over to safety, as Day acknowledged.
“There’s some flexibility,” Day said.
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The Buckeyes, who were idle last weekend, were banged up in their loss at Oregon on Oct. 12. Starting left tackle Josh Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury, and backup tight end Will Kacmarek was also sidelined after diving to catch a 32-yard pass on the opening drive against the Ducks.
Kacmarek was not ruled out for the year, but Day said last week that it is “probably going to be a little while” before he is available again.
Both of them, along with Ransom, were among four scholarship players who were out on the availability report. Freshman cornerback Aaron Scott is also unavailable.
Ohio State will have running back Quinshon Judkins available. Judkins underwent a minor hand procedure while the Buckeyes were off last week. It had not been expected to require him to miss any games.
A transfer from Mississippi, he’s been their leading rusher with 491 yards and six touchdowns.
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter,@joeyrkaufman or email him atjkaufman@dispatch.com.
