COVID-19 issues hit Buckeyes
Ohio State kicker Blake Haubeil and defensive linemen Tommy Togiai and defensive end Tyreke Smith were unavailable for the College Football Playoff national championship game against No. 1 Alabama on Monday night.
Ohio State released its status report for the title game an hour before kickoff.
The game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, ended too late for this edition.
The school doesn’t specify why any of the 13 players on the list cannot play, but Buckeyes coach Ryan Day did acknowledge last week that Ohio State was dealing with some new COVID-19 cases.
Haubeil posted on his Instagram page that he didn’t make the trip to Florida after testing positive. The senior was 5-for-7 on field-goal attempts this season and handled kickoffs. Junior Dominic DiMaccio was 1-for-2 on field goals and 3-for-3 on extra points this season. Freshman Jake Seibert missed his only field goal attempt and made all 13 PATs.
“I’m extremely upset but at the same time I’m overwhelming thankful to be an individual who is asymptomatic,” Haueil said in his post. “I have spent the past 4 months making sacrifices, and have not seen family and friends one single time. So, to say I’m (angry) is a complete understatement. I didn’t go out and do something I knew I wasn’t supposed to be doing and then wake up with a positive test.”
Togiai and Smith both played well in the Sugar Bowl semifinal victory against Clemson, when the Buckeyes got good pressure on QB Trevor Lawrence and shut down the Tigers’ running game.
Smith had a sack and Togiai four tackles. Without Togiai at nose tackle, Jerron Cage and Ty Hamilton was expected to see more playing time.
The Buckeyes got back defensive ends Zach Harrison and Tyler Friday after they missed the semifinal.
Ohio State also had second-leading rusher Master Teague available after he missed the Clemson game.
Running back Miyan Williams, who had some significant runs against Clemson, didn’t make the trip to Miami.
— Associated Press