Ryan Day opened up his morning press conference on Monday, August 14. Among the news is the season-long suspension of redshirt freshman tight end Bennett Christian for the use of a banned substance.

“He’s a great young man who made a mistake,” Day said in his press conference. “He accepted responsibility, he wants to share his story with everyone and the team.”

Christian played in two games for Ohio State last season – Toledo and Michigan State – before ultimately being redshirted for the season. He was competing for some amount of playing time this 2023 season before being suspended.

Christian was a former 4-star prospect from the 2022 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite. He was rated as the 408th-best overall player in the country, the No. 20 tight end and the 40th player from the state of Georgia. He chose to play for Ohio State over schools like Georgia Tech, Kansas, Nebraska, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.

Ohio State’s outlook at TE

In the short term, Ohio State looks well-equipped at the TE position this fall. Cade Stover is a legitimate NFL prospect at the position and returns after 36 catches for 406 yards and 5 TDs a season ago.

Gee Scott Jr. — a former wide receiver — had 5 catches for 28 yards last season and drew high marks from Ryan Day during Monday’s press conference. Joe Royer is another player at the position but has been dinged up per Day. Jelani Thurman — a 6-foot-5 product out of Georgia — is a former 4-star recruit and a true freshman.

While the Buckeyes have the talent and the players to cover the loss of Christian this fall, it is certainly a blow for a young player fighting for playing time. Hopefully, he can take advantage of the development time and come back strong in 2024.