Ohio State football expects Eddrick Houston, Lorenzo Styles Jr. to return at Wisconsin

Ohio State defensive tackle Eddrick Houston and nickel back Lorenzo Styles Jr. are expected to return for this week’s game at Wisconsin.

Coach Ryan Day said on Oct. 15 that Houston and Styles have been participants in practices and are “ready to go” against the Badgers.

Both of them were among the 11 unavailable players for last week’s win at Illinois. It was the first time either had been sidelined this year, though Styles missed most of the second half against Ohio on Sept. 13 with an apparent upper-body injury.

The absence of Styles prompted the Buckeyes to reshuffle their secondary, moving Jermaine Mathews Jr. into the slot from outside cornerback and having freshman Devin Sanchez replace Mathews on the perimeter.

It was Will Smith Jr. and Jason Moore who stepped up in the defensive tackle rotation against the Illini while Houston was unavailable. Houston made two starts at defensive tackle to begin the season until Tywone Malone Jr. surpassed him other the depth.

Day did not specify either of the injuries that kept either Houston or Styles out at Illinois.  

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at [email protected] and follow along on Bluesky, Instagram and X for more.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Eddrick Houston, Lorenzo Styles Jr. expected to return at Wisconsin