Buckeyes tailback Marcus Crowley out for season with 'long-term' injury

COLUMBUS — The stop-start career of Marcus Crowley at Ohio State is once again on pause.

For the second time in three years with the Buckeyes, the talented tailback has suffered a season-ending injury and is facing yet another lengthy recovery process to get back on the field.

Crowley had just started rebuilding momentum for Ohio State after suffering an ACL injury as a freshman that came with additional complications as a sophomore. But now he’s going to have to head through that process all over again.

“Marcus is going to be out for a long time,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on Tuesday at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. “It’s a long-term injury, and certainly prayers go out for him.

“It’s something that happened during the bye week, and he’s working towards recovery. But it’s going to be a long road for him.”

The rehabilitation process appears to be much shorter for fellow running back Master Teague, who is expected to return to the practice field on Tuesday afternoon and be available on Saturday against Penn State.

The Buckeyes have dealt with injuries to the depth chart at running back on a seemingly weekly basis through the first two months of the season, and the revolving door included a three-week absence for Miyan Williams that just ended for Ohio State last week against Indiana.

“For this point of the year, I think we’re doing OK,” Day said. “It’s part of the game. You are going to have some guys who get bumps and bruises and lose guys along the way. But I was excited to see Miyan get back out there, and it was good to see Evan [Pryor] get some snaps. Then we’ll get Master back and we’ll have four there going into this game.”

The fifth guy won’t be in the lineup for Ohio State this week. And it will again be a long time until Marcus Crowley will have that chance.