Gabe VanSickle, Josh Padilla To Rotate At Right Guard In Cotton Bowl While Tegra Tshabola Deals With Injury

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said on Monday that while right guard Tegra Tshabola deals with an injury, redshirt freshman Gabe VanSickle and sophomore Josh Padilla will rotate at right guard leading up to the Cotton Bowl.

Day didn’t have a timeline of when Tshabola will be able to play again, leaving the possibility that he may not play again for the Buckeyes this year.

“We’re going to take it as it goes, but it will probably be a little while — at least a few weeks, anyway,” Day said when asked if Tshabola will be out for the entirety of the CFP.

VanSickle took over at right guard in the second half of the Big Ten championship, and although the Buckeyes didn’t score in the final 30 minutes, two of the more sustained drives the team had were when he was in the game.

In two straight drives, Ohio State went 70 yards in 12 plays and 81 yards in 15 plays, though both finished in the red zone with no points. However, when VanSickle was in the game, the Buckeyes didn’t give up a sack after allowing five earlier in the contest.

Day has been impressed with what VanSickle has put on the field when he’s gotten the opportunity.

“It starts in practice and gaining trust with your coaches and your teammates,” Day said. “He’s done that, and has shown in games what he can do. He and Josh will continue to roll right now, but we feel confident in both of those guys in the game.”

Earlier in the season, Padilla moved from the center position to rotate with Tshabola at right guard and was earning more playing time before he was injured and was forced to sit out of multiple games late in the season.

With the weekly schedule, Day didn’t want to get Padilla back on the field in case the time off affected his play, but now with the long layoff between games, Padilla has been able to work himself back into the rotation.

With the ability of the Miami defense to get into the backfield, which the Hurricanes showed in the first round against Texas A&M, the performance of the OSU offensive line is something that has been a major focus going into the CFP after its worst game of the season in the loss to Indiana on Dec. 6.

“The pass protection wasn’t up to par of what our expectation is,” said junior center Carson Hinzman. “As the season progresses, sometimes you get away from a little bit of fundamental work, but that’s exactly what we’ve been doing the past couple of weeks is getting back into it. We’re getting ready to play some of these great defensive ends and rushers that (Miami has).”