Ohio will be at home for Homecoming this weekend when it takes on Akron in its first Mid-American Conference matchup of the season. The Bobcats enter with plenty of questions surrounding injuries and how the team will bounce back after a loss at Kentucky.
Ohio coach Tim Albin sat down with the media on Monday morning for his weekly press conference; here is what we learned.
The Quarterbacks
The Ohio offense has seen Nick Poulos under center leading the offense for the last six quarters of football. Opening day starter Parker Navarro was benched at halftime of the Morgan State game in Week Three and then sidelined with an apparent injury in Week Four.
According to Albin, Navarro should be a “full-go” this weekend against Akron.
Dealing with an upper-body injury, Albin expects Navarro to practice all week and be fully prepared to start on Saturday against Akron.
Albin did not leave out the possibility of Poulos taking a few snaps at quarterback against Akron.
Injuries
Albin had few injury updates for the second straight week after an injury-riddled start to the season. The updates that Albin did have though, were overwhelmingly positive.
In addition to Navarro being good to go, Albin didn’t rule out the possibility of defensive captains Bradley Weaver and Adonis Williams Jr. starting against Akron on Saturday.
Williams hasn’t seen any action since Week One against Syracuse. Weaver has been a pivotal piece on the Ohio defensive line so far but missed Week Four against Kentucky following an injury sustained in practice.
Barring any new injuries in practice, Ohio’s injury report should be much slimmer than it has been in each of the last three weeks.
Captain Situation
The Bobcats’ captains have been hit with injuries especially hard, starting in week one losing safety Jeremiah Wood for the season to an ACL tear, and safety Adonis Williams has not played since Week One due to a toe injury.
It only got worse since then and the losses due to injuries peaked this past weekend against Kentucky. Ohio was without four of its six appointed captains to start the year as Coleman Owen and Parker Titsworth were the only healthy captains against Kentucky. Albin said he “had to basically assign new captains” for the first time in his 36-year career.
Moving ahead toward Akron it seems that there will be some captains back like Bradley Weaver and Parker Navarro, but it will be a late-week decision if we see new Bobcats come out for the coin toss.
“I just know that we have guys that are capable and that it will be a late in the week (decision) if we have to adjust it.” Albin said.
Homecoming
This Saturday’s game against Akron marks one of the biggest weeks on the calendar for Ohio football as the homecoming festivities will sweep across Athens and Ohio’s campus.
“It’s homecoming, the best gameday experience in our league with the best fans,” Albin said. “Weather looks great, it’s a special week, all week.”
There will certainly be a buzz around campus and the game this week, but Albin is not concerned with the team losing focus ahead of facing Akron.
“I’m not too concerned with the distractions that come along with homecoming,” Albin said. “We’ve got enough older guys on our team that can get us through that.”
Focus will be key for an Ohio squad looking to start MAC play with an important win over Akron.
