2 Buckeyes return to practice after missing Michigan State game

It appears that two Ohio State players have returned to practice after they had to miss the game against Michigan State.

The players are linebacker Tuf Borland and safety Josh Proctor. They can be seen in practice photos shared by Ohio State Wednesday, along with QB Corey Dennis back out on the field.

Linebacker Tuf Borland and safety Josh Proctor, who were among the 23 players unavailable for last week’s game at Michigan State, were back at practice. Quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis pictured too. https://t.co/jTwnOHF4ej

— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) December 9, 2020

It’s great to see them back at practice as Ohio State prepares to play in the Big Ten Championship game against No. 14 Northwestern on Dec. 19.

Proctor has 10 total tackles this year with a fumble recovery while Borland has 19 total tackles and a sack.

The return to practice is a good sign, though it is unclear why the two were held out of the game against Michigan State. The Buckeyes were missing 23 players due to a combination of injuries, positive COVID-19 tests, and contact tracing.

One thing that appears to be clear is Borland and Proctor did not test positive for the virus as athletes that test positive must be held out of competition for 21 days due to current B1G protocols.

Wednesday evening, head coach Ryan Day also released a statement, thanking the Big Ten for putting the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game. It was announced that the conference decided to waive the previous six-game rule and placed Ohio State in the title game.