14 of Ohio State's 21 scholarship true freshmen made the trip to Happy Valley but only four of them played in the wild 44-31 victory.
Playing in Happy Valley against No. 13 Penn State is not the ideal environment for true freshmen to see significant playing time.
With the Buckeyes clinging to a perilous two-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, it was apparent offensive and defensive snaps were not in the future for the youngsters. Although Ohio State pulled away late, only four true freshmen saw action – all on special teams – in theThe members of the 2022 class to cross the sidelines of Beaver Stadium and play in front of the stripe-out crowd were Caden Curry, Jayden Fielding, C.J. Hicks and Sonny Styles.
Six scholarship freshmen were not on the travel roster: Omari Abor, Caleb Burton, Avery Henry, Kenyatta Jackson, Hero Kanu and Gabe Powers. Walk-on freshman running back TC Caffey, who had played in two games this season and traveled to Michigan State for Ohio State’s first road game of the year, also did not travel to Penn State after suffering a season-ending injury.helped on five of the six special teams units.