Ohio State Buckeyes' Defender Suffers Setback In Preseason

As the Ohio State Buckeyes kick off their preseason practices on Thursday, head coach Ryan Day and the program received brutal news on one of the team's rising defensive star.

According to Andy Backstrom, Buckeyes' defensive tackle Eddrick Houston suffered an apparent right leg injury on Thursday.

At OSU for the 1st practice of camp.

DT Eddrick Houston went down late in practice with an apparent right leg injury.

Up-and-down day for QB Julian Sayin, who was picked off by Davison Igbinosun but later in 11s dropped in a nice pass to WR Carnell Tate over CB Devin Sanchez. pic.twitter.com/NvIavy7P10
— Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom) July 31, 2025

When asked about the injury in a press conference after practice, Day did not have an update on the young defensive tackle.

“I haven’t talked to the trainers," Day said. "We’ll go from there once we talk to them.”

As a consensus five-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, the expectations for Houston heading into the 2025 season were high after the program lost both Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton to the NFL this offseason. The Buford, GA native is projected to be one of the key lineman to take over in the trenches this season, as he totaled seven tackles and two pass deflections in 2024.

Depending on the severity of Houston's injury, the Buckeyes will have to rely on their depth at the position. Junior Kayden McDonald is already slated as the team's nose tackle after tallying 19 tackles and 1.5 tackles for losses in limited time last season. Outside of McDonald, former Ole Miss transfer Tywone Malone Jr. will be in the Buckeyes' defensive rotation this year, as well as redshirt sophomore Will Smith Jr.

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