Report: Oregon's Kayvon Thibodeaux Won't Play vs. Ohio State with Ankle Injury

Oregon superstar defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux reportedly won't play Saturday against Ohio State.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports and Bruce Feldman both reported that Thibodeaux would not suit up against the Buckeyes after having little participation in practice throughout the week.

Thibodeaux left last week's 31-24 win over Fresno State with an ankle injury and did not return.

Oregon vs. Ohio State is one of the biggest games on the college football slate Saturday, as the No. 12 Ducks are looking to pull off the road upset against the No. 3 Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

Thibodeaux, a 20-year-old junior, has shown flashes of dominance during his young collegiate career.

In 13 games as a true freshman in 2019, he finished with 35 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, nine sacks and one forced fumble. He followed that up with 42 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss and three sacks in just seven games last season.

Thibodeaux looked good last week before getting injured as well with two tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.

The Los Angeles native was rated a 5-star prospect and the No. 2 overall recruit in the nation by 247Sports when he arrived at Oregon as part of the class of 2019.

Thibodeaux seemed poised to have a career year in 2021 and truly establish himself as the top edge-rusher in the country, but it appears as though he won't have the opportunity to showcase his ability against one of the best teams in college football Saturday.

Beating OSU on the road was already going to be a massive challenge for Oregon, especially after the Ducks barely hung on to beat Fresno State last week.

Without Thibodeaux in the lineup, Ohio State freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud should have plenty of time to throw on the heels of tossing four touchdown passes in last week's win over Minnesota.