By: Adam Rittenberg (ESPN.com) —

Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said Tuesday that if starting running back Chris “Beanie” Wells made it through the practice week without any issues, he would return to the field for the Big Ten opener against Minnesota. Wells and his ailing right big toe avoided any setbacks, and he’ll play for the first time since Aug. 30.

“He’s ready to go,” Tressel said earlier today. “He needs to pass protect better, I told him that yesterday. But he looked good running the football. Now we haven’t been 100 percent live, and he has missed some practice. So I’m not sure he’d be a 30-carry Beanie, but I’d like to think he can help us.”

Don’t expect Wells to have anywhere near 30 carries against the Gophers. I would put 20 carries as the ceiling for the talented junior. He’ll make a bigger difference in the game simply by suiting up than anything else. Though it’s somewhat surprising Ohio State didn’t just hold out Wells until next week’s game at No. 9 Wisconsin, getting him some work is important.

Speaking of running backs and Ohio State, I stumbled upon this juicy little story from Javon Ringer’s prescription drugs without a prescription hometown paper, the Dayton Daily News.

Apparently Tressel recognized Ringer’s potential for stardom, but Ohio State president Karen Holbrook didn’t let him play for Ohio State because of lingering academic issues in high school. On one hand, it’s refreshing to see there’s some semblance of academic standards out there, but Ringer has proven capable of handling himself in all arenas at Michigan State. And the Buckeyes could have used him this year.

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