For the past two weeks, Ohio State has laid claim to the nation’s best scout team defensive end.
That’s not necessarily a good thing, as the Buckeyes would have preferred that Noah Spence had been wearing his familiar No. 8 scarlet jersey and taking the field with one of the nation’s best defensive lines on Saturdays.
But as the Buckeyes walked off the field in the weeks leading up to matchups with Navy and Virginia Tech, Spence found himself wearing the black practice jersey reserved for helping simulate Ohio State’s opponents. And on Saturdays, he was nowhere to be seen—at least inside the stadium.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way, but Spence put himself in this position when a positive drug test at the Big Ten Championship Game resulted in a mandatory three-game suspension. In addition to missing the first two games of the 2014 season, the All-Big Ten selection missed last season’s Orange Bowl and watched as the Buckeyes went an underwhelming 1-2 in his absence.
The son of two probation officers, Spence maintains that he was unknowingly slipped Ecstasy at a party last winter. But regardless of the actual reason why the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native found himself suspended—and relegated to Ohio State’s scout team—his punishment will come to an end this Saturday when the Buckeyes host Kent State.
For an Ohio State team coming off of last weekend’s 35-21 defeat at the hands of Virginia Tech, his return can’t come soon…
Continue Reading: Ohio State Football: Can Noah Spence’s Return Save Buckeyes Defense?
