Blessuan Austin, arguably the most important player on Rutgers' defense, will not play in Saturday's Big Ten clash at Ohio State, Scarlet Knights coach Chris Ash said Thursday.

"Right now, Bless will be inactive for this game,'' Ash said. "He obviously was taken off the field and was removed from Game 1. Some precautionary stuff that we're going through, some things we're looking at to try to find out exactly what happened to him. But he will be inactive for this game, and it will be a week-to-week deal from there until we get some opinions from some doctors on looking at his knee.''

It's a tough blow for Austin, a senior cornerback from Queens, N.Y., who suffered the injury while snagging a leaping interception in the second quarter of the Scarlet Knights' 35-7 season-opening triumph over Texas State.

Avery Young, a true freshman who performed well in Austin's absence in the opener, will make the start opposite four-year starting cornerback Isaiah Wharton on Saturday (3:30 p.m., BTN), when the Scarlet Knights travel to face No. 4 Ohio State.

Tre Avery and Kiy Hester will be game-time decisions. #Rutgers https://t.co/1REMQ8lyS3 — James Kratch (@JamesKratch) September 6, 2018

Austin tore the ACL in his knee in Rutgers' fourth game last fall, and ended up missing the remainder of the season.

The 6-foot-1, 195-pound cornerback, who has started 26 of the 29 games he's played in since 2015, went into this season widely regarded as Rutgers' best prospect for the 2019 NFL Draft. In an interview last spring, Austin said he seriously contemplated entering the draft last spring.

"Honestly I did (consider it),'' Austin said in May. "But I made the decision to come back and it's definitely a decision I do not regret at all. I'm just getting ready now for the season, playing with my brothers.''

Austin focused on his rehabilitation and drew widespread praise from Rutgers' coaches for his training-camp performance.

In addition to the interception, Austin recorded three tackles and a sack in just 18 minutes of action against Texas State.

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.