Ohio State’s Ryan Day Says Jaxon Smith-Njigba Was On “Pitch Count” Against Iowa

"Once he got to that number and that drive, that was it."

Ohio State junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba made his highly anticipated return from a hamstring injury on Saturday, catching one pass for seven yards in the 54-10 win over Iowa.

He appeared to aggravate the injury midway through the second quarter, though, as he came up gingerly on a route and then could be seen on the sideline riding a stationary bike and meeting with the training staff.

Smith-Njigba did not return to the game after that, evoking memories of when he went down in the season opener against Notre Dame, but head coach Ryan Day said during his postgame press conference they already planned to shut him down following that drive.

“He was on a pitch count today, and then once he got to a certain number there, we decided to shut him down,” Day said. “We had about 20 plays and he was right in that range. Once he got to that number and that drive, that was it.”

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Smith-Njigba missed the last three games after suffering a setback in practice the week after the 77-21 win over Toledo. He’s caught just five passes for 43 yards in parts of three games this season,

“I think we will be able to evaluate it and watch the film and see,” Day said when asked if he saw enough from Smith-Njigba on Saturday to feel good about his status moving forward.

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