Ohio State football's Jay Timmons trending toward return against Oregon

Ohio State starting nickel back Jay Timmons is trending toward a return against Oregon on Nov. 7.

Timmons, who was held out of last week’s loss at USC with an unspecified injury, was not included on the Buckeyes’ initial availability report released for their upcoming game against the Ducks.

He has also practiced in recent days, prompting coach Ryan Day to express optimism about his status on Nov. 4.

“We’ll have to see how the next 48 hours go,” Day said, “but he’s had two good days of practice. That would really inject a lot for us in the back end.”

The Buckeyes’ secondary felt the absence of Timmons against the Trojans as they surrendered their longest passes this season between a 69-yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage and another 70-yard reception in the third quarter.

Timmons missed games against Iowa and Maryland earlier in October before returning at Indiana when he reaggravated his injury. He traveled with the Buckeyes to Los Angeles last week as he attempted to return but was ruled out near kickoff.

Wide receivers Brock Boyd and Brandon Inniss were listed as questionable for Oregon after they were held out at USC. It was the second straight game Boyd was sidelined with an unspecified injury.

Left tackle Ian Moore was also listed as questionable. Moore made a late exit against the Trojans as Austin Siereveld moved over from right tackle to replace him in the fourth quarter.  

Defensive tackle Eddrick Houston was not listed after he went down late last week and later limped off the field at the Coliseum, indicating he could be available against Oregon.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Email him at jkaufman@dispatch.com and follow him on @joeyrkaufman on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football’s Jay Timmons trending toward return against Oregon