TARON VINCENT HAS SPENT SEASON RECOVERING FROM TORN LABRUM, LOOKS FORWARD TO MAKING “WHOLE LOT OF PLAYS” FOR OHIO STATE NEXT YEAR
Ask Taron Vincent how his right shoulder feels right now, and he’ll say “I’m good.”
The true answer, though might be “I’m better.” Much better. In the final week of Ohio State’s preseason camp, Vincent suffered an unfortunately timed torn labrum in his right shoulder.
“I didn't think it was that bad, but then the pain just never went away,” Vincent told
Eleven Warriors on Saturday after Ohio State won the Big Ten championship.
An MRI ensued, and surgery soon followed. That injury forced him to don a bulky brace that offered his shoulder stability for five weeks. Since eschewing it in the second month the regular season, he has continued to heal but hasn’t practiced. Vincent has been limited to running every day and doing loads of work to strengthen the “small fibers” in his shoulder.
Instead of playing defensive tackle for Larry Johnson, the sophomore has spent the fall relegated to the sideline every Saturday.
“The beginning of the season was hard just standing there,” Vincent said. “I'm used to it now, and I'm just here to encourage everybody and keep their heads up and stuff.”
In the long term, he thinks he’ll be able to return to the field soon enough.
“By spring time I'll be good,” Vincent said. “So I'm working to the spring.”
By that time, Ohio State will have lost a bevy of interior linemen, which will almost certainly be overlooked when projecting this defense in 2020.
Two nose tackles – starter DaVon Hamilton and backup Robert Landers – will have graduated, and fifth-year senior Jashon Cornell, the starting 3-technique will no longer have any remaining collegiate eligibility. Their collectively stout play on the interior of the defensive line can be directly attributed to the Buckeyes allowing just 2.82 rushing yards per carry.
Without them, Johnson will have to somewhat overhaul his defensive tackle rotation, and that includes Vincent potentially stepping into a prominent role.
Tommy Togiai is in line to start at nose tackle, and Antwuan Jackson Jr. will be in the mix, too. At 3-technique, Vincent will be part of a rotation that could also include Haskell Garrett and Jerron Cage.
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