Ohio State makes final decisions on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming vs Arkansas State

Ohio State receivers Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming have been officially ruled out for Saturday’s game against Arkansas State, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on College GameDay. The announcement came after Thamel reported earlier in the day that both were unlikely to play.

“Jaxon Smith-Njigba, I was told by sources at Ohio State yesterday, is unlikely to play against Arkansas State,” stated Thamel. “He may warm up and try to give it a go, but there’s a lot of skepticism on whether we’ll see him and wide receiver Julian Fleming, who’s Ohio State’s fourth receiver and one of the more talented wide receivers in the country.

“I would classify both as unlikely to play, both of them potentially coming back for Toledo, ahead of their Big Ten opener against Wisconsin in Week 4.”

Fleming was also held out of the season opener against Notre Dame with an unknown injury. Smith-Njigba left the game against the Fighting Irish in the first half after being on the receiving end of a hard hit. Although he would return briefly, he sat out the entire second half of that contest.

With Julian Fleming and Jaxon Smith-Njigba ruled out Saturday, Ohio State could look to Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. as their top two receivers. Egbuka led the team with nine catches for 90 yards and a touchdown last week, while Harrison added five catches for 56 yards. Former walk-on Xavier Johnson is also likely to take on a larger role after recording his first career touchdown in Week 1.

While the Buckeyes will still likely take care of business against Arkansas — they’re currently going off as 44-point favorites — Ohio State will want their wide receivers back into the fold for their tougher opponents in 2022. Luckily, Thamel added both Smith-Njigba and Fleming could be back ahead of their Big Ten opener against Wisconsin.

Kickoff is set for noon ET in Columbus.

On3’s Stephen Samra contributed to this report.