JT Tuimoloau injury: Ohio State EDGE heads to tent during Cotton Bowl vs. Texas

Ohio State EDGE J.T. Tuimoloau left Friday’s Cotton Bowl against Texas with an apparent ankle injury. He appeared to get caught underneath a teammate and immediately headed to the tent.

Tuimoloau got rolled up on the pile in the second quarter and quickly reached for his ankle. He limped off the field and went straight to the medical tent with the training staff for further evaluation.

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Tuimoloau emerged from the tent shortly thereafter with his left ankle heavily taped. ESPN’s Holly Rowe reported he was in plenty of pain, but looked like he’d try to return to the College Football Playoff semifinal.

“J.T. right now, as you see, a very heavily taped left ankle,” Rowe said on the broadcast. “He is in quite a bit of pain. He keeps grimacing as he tries to run. But he has gone up and down the sideline a couple of times here. It looks like he’s going to try to go. But, guys, I can tell you, he is in a great deal of pain right now.”

Tuimoloau is in the midst of the best year of his career after returning to Ohio State this season. He entered Friday with 49 tackles, including a career-high 17 tackles for loss and 10.0 sacks. Prior to his departure in the Cotton Bowl, he had two tackles and 1.5 sacks as the Buckeyes ramped up the pressure on Quinn Ewers.

Ohio State has been rolling through the College Football Playoff, bouncing back well from a season-ending loss to Michigan. The Buckeyes cruised past Tennessee in the first round and blew out No. 1 seed Oregon in the Rose Bowl last time out.

Hot starts have been key to Ohio State’s success, and that was the case on Friday when Quinshon Judkins found the end zone on the Buckeyes’ opening drive. Ryan Day said it’s crucial to set the table for the rest of the game.

“We’ve always wanted to have fast starts and we all know that,” Day said. “I do think that, you know, we’ve talked about, you know, early in games, you know, you want to set the tone for the game, you know, as an individual but also as a team, as a unit.”

“You know, both games, we’ve started off with the ball and we’ve gone right down and scored. So execution fuels emotion. That certainly has a big part of it. They go together. We’ve executed well on those first couple drives and that’s had a big part of it. Defense has got some three-and-outs early in the game. We’ve been able to jump on the last two opponents.”