No. 2 Ohio State’s pursuit of a college football national championship will have to continue without one of its starting offensive linemen.
As noted by the Columbus Dispatch, Buckeyes center Seth McLaughlin tore an Achilles tendon in practice on Tuesday, an injury that’s likely to sideline him for the remainder of the 2024 season.
An Alabama transfer, McLaughlin has been impressive in his first season with the Ohio State program. Last month, he was named a midseason all-American by the Associated Press and The Sporting News, among other outlets.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Buford, Georgia native has started in all 10 of the Buckeyes’ games this season. During that time, he played 565 snaps and had not allowed a sack, according to data from Pro Football Focus.
With McLaughlin anchoring the middle of the offensive line, Ohio State’s run game has improved considerably this year. The Buckeyes are averaging 5.25 yards per carry this season after averaging just 4.19 in 2023, though that figure has also been buoyed by the addition of standout transfer running back Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss to join TreVeyon Henderson in the team’s backfield.
McLaughlin is likely to be replaced by Joshua Padilla, a 6-foot-4, 295-pound redshirt freshman who has served as the backup center the past several weeks and played the final series of Ohio State’s 31-7 victory last Saturday against Northwestern after the starters had been removed from the game. Padilla was a four-star prospect and the No. 11 interior offensive lineman nationally in the 2023 recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings.
McLaughlin’s torn Achilles is the latest injury that has impacted the Buckeyes’ offensive line this season. Josh Simmons, the team’s starting left tackle, left Ohio State’s 32-31 loss at Oregon on Oct. 12 with what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury.
The injury comes at an inopportune time, as well, with the Buckeyes hosting No. 5 Indiana on Saturday in a matchup of top-five teams before turning their attention to archrival Michigan the following week.