On Tuesday, Ryan Day said “the plan” was for Jaxon Smith-Njigba to play against Penn State. Things didn’t go according to plan.
The junior Ohio State wide receiver is one of 15 Buckeyes listed as unavailable for Saturday’s noon matchup with the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley, which means Smith-Njigba will miss his fifth game through eight contests this season.
| OHIO STATE STATUS REPORT FOR PSU |
|---|
| UNAVAILABLE |
|
WR JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA CB CAMERON BROWN S KOURT WILLIAMS WR CALEB BURTON RB TC CAFFEY RB EVAN PRYOR DE MITCHELL MELTON WR KAMRYN BABB DE OMARI ABOR LB TERADJA MITCHELL TE JOE ROYER CB LLOYD MCFARQUHAR LS BRADLEY ROBINSON WR CORBAN CLEVELAND LB JALEN PACE |
After suffering a hamstring injury in the season opener, Smith-Njigba played in just one of the next five games before returning to action against Iowa following the bye week. But after catching just one pass for seven yards, Smith-Njigba left the game in the second quarter noticeably favoring his injured leg.
Day said after the game that Smith-Njigba, who played 22 snaps in the first half before being sidelined, had exhausted his “pitch count” and actually wanted to return to action.
“He’s always been trying to get back out there. He’s a competitor and it’s been hard for him to not be out there more,” Day said Tuesday. “But we wanted to make sure that we kept that number at around about 20 and make sure we didn’t put him out there anymore.”
The record-setting wideout won’t be back this week, though, and his health status will remain a question as Ohio State heads into the final month of its regular-season schedule.
Also out for the Buckeyes this week is starting cornerback Cameron Brown, who will miss his fourth game of the last five as he continues to deal with injury issues. Brown last played against Michigan State before the Buckeye bye week. JK Johnson started in Brown’s absence against Iowa, and fellow second-year cornerback Jordan Hancock is also a candidate to play significant snaps after making his season debut against Iowa.
Starting long snapper Bradley Robinson won’t suit up for the Buckeyes after suffering an apparent knee injury against Iowa last weekend. Day didn’t speak to the severity of Robinson’s injury when asked on Tuesday, but said second-year specialist Mason Arnold would likely remain the go-to option to fill in for the seventh-year senior.
Buckeye captain Kamryn Babb remains unavailable for this week’s game as do Teradja Mitchell, Joe Royer and Kourt Williams, among others.
Veteran defensive end and Buckeye captain Tyler Friday, who missed Ohio State’s last three games due to injury, is returning to action against Penn State.
