Ryan Day offers injury update on Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming, Kam Babb

Ohio State plays a final non-conference tune-up game on Saturday when Toledo comes to Ohio Stadium and based on what head coach Ryan Day said on Thursday, the Buckeyes will have a healthier receiver corps than at any point this season.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba got hurt early in the opener against Notre Dame and missed last week against Arkansas State. Julian Fleming has missed the first two games, as has Kamryn Babb. On Thursday, Day said all three should hopefully be good to go on Saturday.

“Yeah we’re hoping all those guys are going to be on the field in pregame warmups and they’ll be available for the weekend,” Day said.

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Ohio State’s passing offense hasn’t exactly suffered in the two games without those wideouts. Quarterback CJ Stroud is completing 69% of his passes and has thrown for 574 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.

But with Fleming, Babb and especially Smith-Njigba working back into the fold, the Buckeyes passing attack can ascend to new heights.

Stroud and the Ohio State wide receivers excel at anticipation throws

Stroud is one of the best quarterbacks in college football and will surely be a top NFL draft pick in 2023 barring anything unforeseen. From his vantage point in Ohio State’s backfield, the Stroud has displayed the physical tools — size, arm strength, mobility — and positional acumen like throwing touch, decision making and his ability to throw with anticipation, that make him a tantalizing quarterback prospect

The anticipation throws are some of the hardest things to do on the football field: Throwing the ball to a spot and trusting — knowing — your man will pop in at just the right moment to snag the pass. It’s something Stroud does confidently thanks to countless reps and God-given ability.

“I don’t know,” Stroud said, “I think God blessed me with that anticipation kind of skill. Since kind of a young age, I’ve always been gifted in that aspect to just feel out defenses, know when my guy is going to be open and where and just throw it to a spot where only he can get it. And where he’s going to be, not where he’s at, at the moment.”

Stroud’s own ability to sense the open space to place a pass is only half the equation, as his receivers need to be on the same page. Fortunately this is something easily remedied with offseason repetition. It helps that Ohio State has talents like Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. at the wide receiver position, too.

Pass protection is key, too, in giving Stroud the time, even just an extra beat, to let a throwing window come open for a strike downfield. Even running back Miyan Williams bailed him out a play when he picked up a blitzing linebacker, giving the quarterback more time.

The familiarity and trust between Stroud and his pass catchers, and his confidence in his blockers, make a lethal combination.

“So, I mean we’ve been working — those type of routes you have to work on in the offseason,” Stroud said. “Any timing route. So I definitely think Miyan did a good job on that look, too. Because after he faked off the sam, he ended up blitzing so I had to step up a little bit and Miyan kicked him out for me. It’s just everybody just doing their job to make the execution work. So I definitely think that’s something we can build on and hopefully we just keep doing that.”