Ohio State right guard Branden Bowen raises his helmet to the crowd as he is carted off the field during the first quarter of the Buckeyes’ game against Maryland on Oct. 7. Credit: Jack Westerheide | Photo Editor
Ohio State’s offensive line had seemingly found its groove. Over the past several games, the line had provided quarterback J.T. Barrett with plenty of time each time he dropped back to pass, particularly in Saturday’s game against Maryland.
But with less than two minutes left in the first quarter of Ohio State’s eventual 62-14 victory over Maryland, redshirt sophomore right guard Branden Bowen fell to the turf on a play that broke down and forced Barrett to scramble out of the pocket for a two-yard gain. The hulking lineman was carted off the field with a cast on his left leg and later was diagnosed as having fractured both his left tibia and fibula.
“Keep Branden Bowen in your prayers,” head coach Urban Meyer said after the game. “I think he’s going to have surgery tomorrow, broken leg. Clean break. And so just gotta get him healthy and get him back.”
For a number of reasons, the loss of Bowen will affect the team. Emotionally, it is the loss of a teammate and a painful injury the team knows will cost Bowen the rest of his season. From a personnel standpoint, it leaves a hole on the right side of the offensive line that requires filling before the team travels to Nebraska.
Even when Bowen is replaced on the line, the new starter will lack the previous game experience the starter possessed and the chemistry he had developed with the other starters.
“That’s our brother. And as an offense, that’s our brother as well, so I mean, you’re losing one of the key cogs of the offensive unit with Bowen going down,” redshirt senior center Billy Price said. “That game experience that Bowen had, it’s irreplaceable. Even last year’s game experience and him coming in and taking that time.”
Redshirt sophomore Matt Burrell took Bowen’s place Saturday. Burrell listed as the left guard backup on the team’s depth chart and who has been seen before games going through warmups as a center. Redshirt junior Malcolm Pridgeon was listed as Bowen’s official backup at right guard.
Burrell had been among those competing for the starting right guard spot in the summer, but ultimately lost the position battle to Bowen. As it stands right now, Burrell figures to be the most likely candidate to inherit the starting job, but Meyer left open the possibility of another position battle.
“Next man up, right now looks like Matt Burrell,” Meyer said. “And we’ll see if there’s any competition at that spot. [The depth is] alarming, but Matt played OK.”
For now though, the expectation among the players is that Burrell will inherit the will fill Bowen’s vacancy. Bowen was a key factor in the momentum the line had built coming into the game, Price said. Now the mentality is next man up.
“Matt came in for [Bowen] and he performed very well today,” Price said. “A guy who we always [tell] ‘You never know your number’s going to be called so you have to make sure you prepare.’”
When Burrell lost the battle in the offseason, it was likely a major blow to his confidence as he had lost a position battle the season prior at the left guard spot to now-sophomore guard Michael Jordan.
And as Price said, that lack of confidence still separates Burrell from Bowen for the time being.
“He’s always questioning, ‘Hey did I do this right?’ or ‘Hey, did I do this right? And it’s again, football is a game of highs and lows and you’ve just got to go out and block,” Price said. “You can’t just sit here and constantly think about, ‘Hey, OK I’ve got to make sure that this is playing perfect.’ Playing offensive line, you’re not going to play perfect.”
