Ohio State Won’t Risk Future To Play Jaxon Smith-Njigba Against Arkansas State

"We’ll make sure he’s 100 percent before we put him back in again."

While Ohio State junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s hamstring injury isn’t a long-term concern, don’t expect him to suit up for the Buckeyes until he's back to full strength.

“I’ll leave it up to the doctors and medical professionals, but we will not bring him back if there’s any risk of him getting hurt further for the future,” head coach Ryan Day said during his press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “We’ll make sure he’s 100 percent before we put him back in again.”

Ohio State hosts Arkansas State this weekend, which is a 43.5-point underdog, before welcoming Toledo to Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes won’t need Smith-Njigba to win either game, but Day acknowledged how essential he is to their Big Ten title and College Football Playoff hopes.

“He’s just such an impact player,” Day said. “As you saw last year, he can turn a five-yard completion into, you know, whatever. He’s just so explosive and because of that, when you have a playmaker like that on the perimeter, it just has such an impact on the entire game schematically across the board.”

Smith-Njigba, who was injured on a four-yard reception in the first quarter of Saturday’s 21-10 win over Notre Dame, tried to stretch out his hamstring by riding a stationary bike and running sprints on the sidelines. He then returned for a few plays in the second quarter before pulling himself from the game.

“We trust Jaxon, so we wanted his feedback,” Day said. “We tried to see if he’d get in there and play, and then he just said, ‘I’m just not going to be at my best here. I don’t want to put the team at risk.’ When you have a more experienced guy who has played, you can kind of trust him a little bit to give you some feedback.”

Day didn’t specify the exact nature of Smith-Njigba’s injury, though redshirt sophomore quarterback C.J. Stroud confirmed it was his hamstring during his media availability on Tuesday, noting it was something he dealt with during his true freshman season in 2020.

“He’s the best player on our team if you ask me,” Stroud said. “He’s not out for the season, thank God, so I’m not too worried about it. I wish he would have played. They were doing some coverages that we literally wanted for Jaxon, so it kind of skewed our game plan, like taking shots and stuff like that.

“After the game, I talked to him and he was extremely happy for us. Of course he wanted to do more and be part of the game, but he will (in the future). Everything will be fine. He’ll be good to go in the next couple weeks.”

The Buckeyes have almost three weeks until the Big Ten opener against 19th-ranked Wisconsin on Sept. 24, so there’s no reason to rush Smith-Njigba back into action. Instead, they’ll take it day by day – and if he happens to be ready before then, all the better.

“You’ve got to be smart because of the longevity of the season,” Stroud said. “It’s the first game of the year. I know it’s Notre Dame and you definitely want to play. You’ve been dreaming of these moments your whole life, so it was tough for him, but you’ve got to be smart. 

“When your number is called, make the play. But when it’s time to shut it down, you’ve got to shut it down and just get your body right. I mean, your best ability is your availability.”

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