Ryan Day reacts to speculation about Jaxon Smith Njigba’s injury

Jaxon Smith-Njigba suffered a hamstring injury last season and played sparingly in just three games. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day reacted to the speculation surrounding his wide receiver’s injury last fall.

There was a lot of chatter about whether or not Smith-Njigba could actually go late in the season, especially during the postseason. The star wideout broke out during the 2022 Rose Bowl but did not play in Ohio State’s semifinal loss to Georgia on New Year’s Eve, despite hope he could return.

After National Signing Day, Day talked about Smith-Njigba, who’s off to the NFL, and his injury situation from this past fall.

“I feel very strong about our doctors in sports medicine,” Day said. “And I think those were two similar situations (with Smith-Njigba and defensive back Jordan Hancock), but also unique to themselves. Again, without getting too many details of how that all went with Jackson in that game, you can see how awkward that was. 

“I’m not a doctor, but it had to do with the hit itself as opposed to running and that had created its own set of issues. And I know he tried several times to come back and then they said he got this point, the best thing to do is just shut it down. And that was hard for him to do.” 

Despite the chatter after Smith-Njigba’s injury, like being about to play in the College Football Playoff, Day dismissed that notion.

“I know that there’s been a lot of speculation about, you know, him being able to play towards the end, but he was told to shut it down,” Day said. “And so that was hard for him and a lot of respect for Jackson. You know, Jordan fought to come back and now he’s gonna get really strong in the offseason and ready to go. 

“I think our guys have handled it really well. I think we have some of the best in the country. There’s just some things like this that happen along the way and you try to do the best you can but overall, I think we’ve done as good as anybody over the past few years.”

Before Smith-Njigba suffered his injury, he was regarded as one of, if not the best wide receiver in college football.

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He finished his college career (22 games, 15 starts) with 109 catches, 1,691 yards, 10 touchdowns and 15.5 yards per catch.