Until two weeks ago, Zen Michalski had never seen substantial playing time in nearly three-and-a-half seasons at Ohio State. Now, he’s in position to be one of the Buckeyes’ most important players for the remainder of 2024.
Michalski had never seen so much as spot duty with the first-team offense when he was called upon to replace Josh Simmons at left tackle in the second quarter against Oregon. Before then, Michalski had played less than 200 offensive snaps in his collegiate career with all of those snaps coming late in games where the Buckeyes had decisive leads.
With Simmons now out for the season due to the knee injury he suffered in Eugene, however, Michalski is set to make his first career start as Ohio State’s left tackle on Saturday against Nebraska.