Ohio State LB’S eligibility waiver denied
Ohio State linebacker Palaie Gaoteote's immediate eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA, leaving him unable to play for the Buckeyes this season, coach Ryan Day said Thursday.
Gaoteote, who transferred from USC this summer, will remain on the roster and continue to practice with the team. He has not been placed on scholarship since enrolling in classes at the university in June.
“We're going to try to figure out what's next,” Day said. “He's very, very disappointed he wasn't granted an opportunity to play this season. We'll kind of regroup and see what's next here.”
Asked on a Zoom call with reporters if the college sports governing body had given reasoning for its decision, Day shook his head.
“What I know is that it was denied,” Day said.
Day added the Buckeyes will consider appealing the decision. It's unclear how long such a process would take or when he might be able to play for Ohio State if it were to be successful.
When Gaoteote first joined the Buckeyes, he was the only linebacker with starting experience, having started 14 games in his three seasons at USC.
Both linebackers Tommy Eichenberg and Teradja Mitchell made their first career starts in last week's season-opening win at Minnesota.
Status of Josh Proctor
Day remained tight-lipped about the status of starting safety Josh Proctor for Saturday's game against Oregon.
“We'll see as we get closer to the game,” Day said.
In the fourth quarter of the Sept. 2 game at Minnesota, Proctor appeared to injure a shoulder, prompting him to head to the locker room. He never returned to the game.
Proctor was seen leaving practice in uniform on Wednesday night, a sign that he had perhaps not suffered a longterm setback, but there was little clarity about his availability .
The Buckeyes are scheduled to release their availability report on Saturday morning.
If Proctor is unavailable for the matchup or in a limited role, sophomore Bryson Shaw could step in his place as the starter. He filled in for him last week.
Playing time varies for freshman ends
J.T. Tuimoloau arrived at Ohio State in July, six months later than fellow fivestar freshman Jack Sawyer, but he had a bigger role in the Buckeyes' defensive end rotation in the season opener.
According to Pro Football Focus' tracking, he appeared on the field for 13 plays, while Sawyer saw four snaps.
Day acknowledged several factors were at hand in dividing playing time between them, including the matchup.
Minnesota features a veteran offensive line and relies on an offensive philosophy set on running the ball, putting pressure on defensive lines. Tuimoloau is a bigger end, weighing 275 pounds, while Sawyer is listed at 250 pounds.
Tuimoloau's adjustment period has also been a short one.
“He has done a good job,” Day said. “He's very conscientious. He can take meetings to the field very, very quickly.”
Non-conference guarantees
Ohio State's guarantee payouts for this season's three non-conference games total $6.4 million.
The bulk come from this week's game against Oregon, as it owes $3.5 million to the visiting Ducks. The guarantee was negotiated by the schools after last season's game in Eugene, the first in a home-and-home series, was called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Due to the cancellation, Oregon was unable to receive revenue from ticket sales, parking, concessions and more by hosting the Buckeyes.
For games in the following weeks, Ohio State is paying out $1.1 million to Tulsa and $1.8 million to Akron.
First-ever starting ‘bullet’
After starting three linebackers in recent seasons, the Buckeyes started only two at Minnesota, paving the way for a lineup that included the “bullet” position, a hybrid linebacker-safety role that was formed ahead of Day's first season in 2019.
Redshirt sophomore Ronnie Hickman then became the first “bullet” to start a game for Ohio State and valued the distinction.
“When they brought the position up to us, I definitely wanted to start,” said Hickman, who led the team with 11 tackles against the Gophers. “It was definitely a personal goal of mine. So just the fact I was able to go out and do that was an honor.”
Backup quarterback sorting
It looked like Kyle Mccord might have emerged as the Buckeyes' backup quarterback when he ran the second-team offense in pre-game warmups last week.
But Day maintained on Thursday that he had not formally named someone as the No. 2 quarterback behind C.J. Stroud, saying that competition for that spot on the depth chart continued.
“It's a long way to January,” he said. “Hopefully guys start to separate themselves in that area.”
Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.