Captain and hooker Liam Coltman has recovered from damaged ribs and makes his return to the starting line-up.
Also turning out in the blue and gold is openside flanker James Lentjes, who has been out for more than a month with a head knock.
He left the field in the first match of the season against Canterbury on August 15 and has missed the following five games before getting a clearance this week to get back on the field.
With Lentjes back into the side, Adam Knight, who has played the past two matches on the openside flank, moves across to the other side of the scrum.
Knight has impressed in his first season at this level and was prominent in Otago's last minute win over Wellington last week.
Destructive loose forward Naulia Dawai is moved to No 8 and Mika Mafi comes into the reserves.
In the backs, Michael Collins, who made a good fist of fullback last week against Wellington, continues to play at the back.
His defence is a major asset in his game and he can be relied upon to make the tackle.
Youngster Sio Tomkinson, who played for Otago under-19 last week, will make his starting debut for Otago, on the right wing.
Tomkinson, who can play anywhere in the backline, replaces Jayden Spence on the left wing, who moves to the bench.
University A winger Gavin Stark is still battling injury and is not available.
After having a break last week, Jack Wilson comes back on to the left wing.
Lock Jackson Hemopo comes back into the reserves after overcoming a knee injury, which also occurred against Canterbury.
What has been shown with the short turnaround in this competition is the importance of the bench and when to put players on and when to take tiring players off.
Southland will come into the match with plenty of confidence, coming off a 49-14 win over Manawatu last Saturday.
Otago is also playing well, having bagged the scalp of Wellington in its most recent match.
The game tomorrow looms as a crunch encounter for both sides with Southland sitting fourth on the ITM Cup Championship table, one point ahead of Otago.
