COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State cornerback Richard McNutt is expected to miss the rest of the season because of a degenerative condition in his right ankle.

"The way we're talking about Richard at this moment, we're planning as though we won't have him," Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said Thursday.

"He came in with an injury, he's tried like crazy, he's sacrificed and he's played with pain. But we knew there was going to be a day when the medical people said 'Hey, enough,' and that day has come."

McNutt, a junior, undergoes regular examinations on his right ankle. During the most recent exam, the team's medical staff told Tressel the ankle was too bad for McNutt to play.

Freshman E.J. Underwood will start in McNutt's place Saturday when the fifth-ranked Buckeyes play San Jose State.

McNutt has been the subject of a tongue-in-cheek Heisman Trophy campaign the last two seasons. "McNutt for Heisman" T-shirts can be spotted in the crowd at Ohio State games, and the campaign also has a Web site.