Ohio State’s defensive front seven, which is loaded on the first-team but lacking for quality depth, will be without a pair of potentially useful freshman backups in defensive end Dylan Thompson and linebacker Kyle Berger this season.
According to Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch, a team spokesman confirmed that both players are expected to sit out the entire year after getting hurt in practice, although the official nature of the injuries has hitherto gone undisclosed.
Berger, however, tweeted over the weekend that he re-tore his ACL, a relapse of the injury that ended his senior year of high school:
Thompson’s injury is believed to be a fractured kneecap that will not require surgery, according to May’s report.
As far as immediate repercussions are concerned, this does not appear to be a fatal blow to Ohio State’s defense. Bleacher Report’s David Regimbal did not list either player on his projected two-deep depth chart in July, so the first and second teams remain intact.
But it’s not always quite that simple. Berger was a 4-star recruit and one of the top 160 players in the 2014 class, and Thompson, despite ranking all the way down at No. 464 nationally, had the size (6’5″, 270 pounds) and potential to become a useful rotation player off the bat.
Here’s what Christopher Jason of Land-Grant Holy Land had to say of Thompson during national signing day:
Thompson is a very solid defensive tackle who has the…
Continue Reading: How Dylan Thompson, Kyle Berger’s Injuries Will Impact Ohio State’s 2014 Defense
