Big Ten Daily: Ohio State Defensive End Tyler Friday to Miss Most of Season With Injury
Ohio State coach Ryan Day announced during a Wednesday press conference that the team will be without senior defensive end Tyler Friday during fall camp and for most of the season due to an injury.
“Tyler Friday won’t be available,” Day said. “I won’t get into his injury just yet. I haven’t talked to him about that, about making it public, but he won’t be available really for camp and really for most of the season.”
Friday, a 6-foot-3, 260-pound lineman out of Don Bosco Prep High School in Ramsey, New Jersey, has appeared in 25 games for the Buckeyes over the last three seasons. During his college career, he's recorded 18 total tackles, four tackles for loss and three sacks.
Ohio State will rely on its depth along the defensive line to make up for the loss of a starting player.
For more from our Sports Illustrated Ohio State website, Buckeyes Now, CLICK HERE.
Wisconsin Safety Steps Away From Football due to Injury
Titus Toler, who was coming off his redshirt freshman season with the Wisconsin Badgers, is hanging up the cleats. The program announced Wednesday that the safety will remain a student on campus but will no longer compete for the team.
Toler was a three-star prospect out of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. Last season, he appeared in two games and recorded an interception in the team's opener against Illinois. Toler missed the remaining five games of the year due to an undisclosed injury.
Returning seniors Collin Wilder and Scott Nelson are expected to start at the safety positions during the 2021 season. They combined for 34 tackles, three interceptions and four pass deflections.
2023 Penn State Commit Climbing the Recruiting Rankings
Alex Birchmeier, a 2023 four-star offensive lineman from Broad Run High School in Ashburn, Virginia, is steadily climbing the recruiting rankings.
Birchmeier, a Penn State football commit, is rated as the nation's top interior offensive lineman in the cycle. He's moved to the No. 14 player in the country, according to 247Sports.
"I think the kid is outstanding," 247Sports national recruiting analyst Brian Dohn told Lions247 on Tuesday. "You're looking for certain things in offensive linemen — toughness, grit, athleticism, flexibility, size, length, mentality. He has all of that, and he's also a state champion wrestler. ... Why is wrestling important? Balance, flexibility, competitiveness, the drive to win a one-on-one battle. That's what you want to do on the offensive line."
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound prospect is the top player in his home state of Virginia and is rated as the No. 39 prospect in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Birchmeier has fielded 29 total offers, but he committed to the Nittany Lions in July.
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