Jordan Hall Sidelined 10 Weeks With Foot Injury

Hall is a key offensive weapon for Meyer

Ohio State announced some bad news for Buckeye Nation, stating that senior tailback Jordan Hall will be out 10 weeks after having surgery on his foot last Friday.

"Hall, who enters his senior season with 2,513 all-purpose yards to rank 26th all-time at Ohio State, suffered an accidental cut to the bottom of his right foot Wednesday afternoon while walking in grass outside his residence in Columbus. He had surgery Friday at the Ohio State University Medical Center.

“This is an unfortunate accident to a really fine young man,” Meyer said. “He’s handling things well, though. He’ll be in a non-weight bearing cast for about six weeks and then he’ll rehabilitate the injury for at least four weeks after that.”"

In case you were wondering how this affects the team as far as playing games, Hall will most likely miss the season opener against Miami (OH). The Redhawks come to town only 9 weeks from now. If everything goes alright in Hall's recovery, there's no reason he shouldn't be back in time for the second or third week of the 2012 season.

Hall has 817 career rushing yards with five touchdowns and has also caught 21 passes out of the backfield for 202 yards and four more TDs. He came out of spring drills No. 1 on the depth chart at running back. 

Junior Carlos Hyde (707 career rushing yards and six touchdowns), sophomore Rod Smith (116 and one, respectively) and true freshman Bri'onte Dunn were also competing in the mix at running back throughout spring.

Keep it at Inside The Shoe for the latest news, updates and opinions on Ohio State athletics.

Jared Sullinger Medically Flagged By NBA Doctors

What's the future for big Sully?

Chad Ford, the NBA insider from ESPN, is reporting that Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger has been medically flagged by NBA doctors who have expressed concern over the his back.

Sullinger, who is projected to be a lottery pick in the draft on June 28, underwent a series of medical tests at the draft combine a week ago.

A number of NBA team doctors have reviewed the information from the NBA and have told their front office staff that Sullinger's back issues could shorten his NBA career, and some have advised their teams not to draft him in the first round.

Sullinger's father, Satch Sullinger, said he believes the issue isn't that serious.

"He had a bulging area that was due to his hamstring and quads being so tight," Satch Sullinger told ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz in a phone call Monday afternoon. "It pulled on his hip flexor and he's been taking care of it to loosen it. You can call it a red flag if you want. But it's tight hamstring and tight quads. He's been to doctors, he's doing yoga and deep tissue massage. The flexibility is helping take the pressure off the area.

"We've got nothing to hide. At this stage it's all about what they can't do. Jared is a skilled player. A two-time All-American. He can play."

Meanwhile, Ohio State's coach Thad Matta weighed in on the issue with: 

 "Jared is fine. He's moving better than I've ever seen him move."

Chad Ford currently has Sullinger being selected to go No. 10 in his 7th Mock Draft.

Much of the media has compared this to Pittsburgh's DeJuan Blair who was also red flagged by the NBA when medical tests at the NBA combine revealed he didn't have ACL's in either knee. At the time Blair was projected as a late lottery pick. He slid all the way out of the first round.

Basketball Recap: #2 Ohio State 67, #13 Kansas 78

The absence of Sullinger was too much

Kansas and Thomas Robinson took full advantage of Sullinger's absence inside to score 21 points, and newcomer Kevin Young came off the bench to add a career-high 14 for the Jayhawks (6-2), who extended their winning streak to 47 games over nonconference opponents at Allen Fieldhouse.

William Buford had 17 of his 21 points in the second half for Ohio State (8-1), which was playing on the road for the first time this season. Deshaun Thomas added 19 points.

"When you make mistakes, Kansas is so good, they're going to make you pay, and we made some key mistakes," Buckeyes coach Thad Matta said. "Our guys competed -- just made mistakes down the stretch."

It was more publicly known that Sullinger was a question mark, but he wasn't ruled out until just before the game, when his balky back simply wouldn't loosen up.

"As I told Coach Self when we shook hands before the game, 'Merry Christmas'" Matta said.

"I don't think his exact words were, 'Merry Christmas,'" Self said with a grin. "I think there were some other words in there, maybe describing the holiday."

"I don't think you put an asterisk with the win," Self added. "Ohio State can certainly say, and rightfully so, 'Jared didn't play.' And we know he didn't play, and they're a much better team with him. We wanted him to play. But just because he plays doesn't guarantee anything."

Some Injury Updates

Evege will watch his teammates again

Last year, the defensive back position was heavily injured at often times, and even Chimdi Chekwa would play hurt during games. It seems like that trend will continue this year, as more defensive backs are on the injured list.

First up, Donnie Evege is out for the season, due to a knee injury. Evege is not a huge competitor for the cornerback position this year, but he is an essential team member of our special teams unit, and a unit that needs to improve drastically from last year. Last Saturday, Christian Bryant and Adam Griffin, son of Buckeye legend Archie Griffin, were kept out of most drills due to minor injuries. These are expected to be fixed up soon and they should be ready to go. With senior Tyler Moeller still recovering from pectoral surgery, Bryant was working as the first-team Star (nickel back) this spring, hoping to be among the first team.

Tyler Moeller Injured Once More.

We'll miss you #26

The ball hawking STAR player that overcame a brutal blow to the head to miss the 2009 season, came out in 2010 ready for action. Most people took notice as he became a key player in the defense and was name Defensive Player of the Week in Week 1.

Today in the first quarter against Illinois, Moeller went down with another injury and this tweet confirmed many fears that he would be out for the season. Moeller has a chance to appeal for a sixth year of eligibility with a medical redshirt, so we hope to see the great defensive man back on the field next year.


Also, this sums up our feelings.

Breaking News: Mark Ingram out for opener

According to the World Wide Leader, Mark Ingram will sit out Alabama's opener against San Jose State and likely the 2nd game of the season against The Fighting Joe Pa's of Penn State. Ingram suffered a knee injury during Monday's practice and has already undergone knee surgery.
As OSU fans, we know how this feels, with Beanie's toe/foot exploding in the opener against YSU a few years ago. This has got to be a tough blow for the defending champs to take so early in the season. The Angry Elf, Saban, hopes to have Ingram back in time for conference play.