The Ohio State Buckeyes have been fortunate when it comes to serious injuries so far this season. Ohio State sits at 4-1 heading into Week 6 of the college football season, and the Buckeyes host Maryland on Saturday ahead of a big matchup with Indiana the following week. The Maryland game could be the one where Ohio State gets an injured starter back on the offensive line.

Ohio State hasn’t had right tackle Phillip Daniels since the Week 2 game against Texas, when he went down with an injury. His absence forced Ohio State to shuffle things up front over the last few games.

Ohio State has shuffled its offensive line without Phillip Daniels

With Daniels out, the Buckeyes have gone with Gabe VanSickle at right guard and slid Austin Siereveld over to right tackle. It’s the combination Ohio State believes gives it the best five along the offensive line right now.

Daniels was a full-time starter for the Buckeyes all of last season. He was slated to be the starting right tackle again this year, with Ian Moore manning the left tackle spot. Losing a player with that kind of experience is never easy, even if Daniels wasn’t playing at his highest level. 

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day gave an update on Daniels on Tuesday. The biggest takeaway was Day’s admission about the timeline for a return from what remains an unspecified injury, along with a comment that could have bigger implications for the offensive line.

“I’ve always felt like you know you don’t lose a position just because you get injured,” Day said. “That being said, I think there’s a little bit of rhythm going on right there, so we’ll have to identify that as it goes. I think we thought Phil would have been back a little bit sooner. He’ll be limited today. We’ll see how he looks today. 

“Hopefully, we can get him going with some scout work throughout the middle of the week and and get him available for this game. And then once he is available, we’ll figure out like how many snaps he can take and then how we would rotate that in the game, but we’re anxious to get Phil back.”

Gabe VanSickle might have a chance to hold on to his spot

There’s a lot to unpack from Day’s comments. He’s anxious to get Daniels back, but he also left the door open for the Buckeyes to stick with their current group up front. Day specifically pointed to the rhythm the line has built, and Ohio State won’t want to disrupt anything that’s working with a stretch of big games on the horizon.

VanSickle was up and down in the last game against Iowa. He had a couple of penalties early, but he settled in as the game went on. Every snap he gets is more time to grow comfortable at right guard, and that matters for a line that has found some continuity.

It would be a surprise if Ohio State tipped its hand before game time against Maryland. The availability report this week will offer some clues, but Daniels’ status for Maryland looks to be up in the air based on Day’s update. If he can’t go, the Buckeyes already know what their offensive line will look like.

The more time Daniels misses, the more time VanSickle has to make his case. I don’t think it’s a lock that Daniels gets his job back once he’s healthy, especially if the current group is playing well. How Ohio State handles the right side of the line over the next couple of weeks is going to be key with Indiana up after Maryland.