Ohio State to be without Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs Wisconsin

Ohio State will again be without its star receiver Saturday night. Jaxon Smith-Njigba has been ruled out for the game against Wisconsin.

The Buckeyes made the announcement ahead of the primetime showdown on Saturday as Smith-Njigba continues to work his way back from a lower-body injury he suffered in Week 1 against Notre Dame. He came back to the lineup last week, but is going to be back on the sidelines this week as Big Ten play gets underway.

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Ohio State’s leading receiver last year, Smith-Njigba has only played in two games this season, totaling four receptions for 36 yards. But in his absence, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka emerged as go-to targets for CJ Stroud and the Buckeyes offense. Harrison leads the Buckeyes with 342 yards and five touchdowns while Egbuka sits just behind him with 324 yards and three trips to the end zone. That means the offense will likely still be in good hands once again.

Earlier this week, Ohio State coach Ryan Day sounded optimistic about Smith-Njigba’s chances of playing. He, along with Julian Fleming, have been wait-and-see heading into the game as they deal with respective injuries.

“I think coming off of last week, you saw Julian get in there and catch two touchdown passes, which was great. And Jaxon caught a couple of balls, and so we’ll kind of just keep taking it day by day and see how they do, but so far so good,” Day said in a Zoom call ahead of the game against Wisconsin.

Additionally, Ohio State will be without cornerback Cameron Brown for the game, leaving the Buckeyes with four available scholarship cornerbacks. They’ll kick off Big Ten play Saturday night against Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.