When Braxton Miller streaked by Briean Boddy-Calhoun, he has his heart set on six points, not becoming the sixth member of the Ohio State wide receiver corps to join the injury report.
Miller snagged the pass from Cardale Jones — a 45-yard gain — before the Minnesota defensive back grabbed him and thrust him to the turf Saturday night, and the quarterback turned H-back had his head bounce firmly on the ground.
Miller walked away woozily with the help of two trainers while Ohio State led 21-7 in the fourth quarter, but never returned to the 28-14 victory against the Golden Gophers. He joined an already extensive list of injured Buckeye wideouts, a group position coach Zach Smith's done his best to build since his arrival prior to 2012 with Urban Meyer.
"It's been devastating," Smith said Monday.
“There's a standard of performance that is suspected and demanded and that is really set in the room and not to mention among the program," Smith said. "Doesn't matter the situation, there's a performance that we have to hit. And we'll hit it.”– Zach Smith
Five of Ohio State's top nine outside playmakers — Noah Brown, Corey Smith, Dontre Wilson, Johnnie Dixon and Parris Campbell — are either out for the season or battling nagging ailments. Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall, Curtis Samuel and Miller are healthy, though Samuel's missed time with a hamstring pull and back spasms and Miller sat out practice Sunday with what Meyer described as a "sore neck."
The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year is expected to be good to go for Saturday's road tilt with Illinois, but Meyer admitted the lack of numbers at the position has changed what Ohio State's been able to do offensively "a lot."
"Week 10 or whatever it is, if you look across the country, that's what happens," Meyer said.
Injuries affect teams in different ways at different times — just look at what happened to Ohio State's quarterbacks last season. In 2015, though, it's the wide receivers that can't rid themselves from the injury bug.
Brown figured to be the team's second or third option at the position before breaking his leg in fall camp. Smith filled in admirably once he returned from a one-game suspension before he went down with a similar injury at Indiana Oct. 3. Dixon's dealt with knee tendonitis — "we just want to make sure it doesn't come back," Smith said — and hasn't played significant time since the opener. Wilson's foot injury won't go away and Campbell's knee sprain is likely holding him out another week.
"Probably every school in the country, that'd be disabling," Smith said. "For us, we have such depth and so much confidence in the guys that are healthy right now, that we haven't really missed a beat. It's been devastating, I want those kids out there, obviously we could use them, but we'll be all right."
Wilson last saw significant time against Penn State.
Thomas is the team's best weapon the outside, with exceptional size and stellar hands to go with precise route running. He leads the team with 39 receptions for 575 yards and seven touchdowns. Marshall is next with 23 grabs for 357 yards and three scores, and Miller isn't far behind him with 20 catches, 325 yards and three touchdowns.
"There's a standard of performance that is suspected and demanded and that is really set in the room and not to mention among the program," Smith said. "Doesn't matter the situation, there's a performance that we have to hit. And we'll hit it."
Brown was set to be an integral part of the offense after working his tail off to cut weight and improve his game prior to his injury, but it wasn't meant to be in 2015.
"That's the idea, right?" Smith said. "When we recruited him, that's what we wanted him to be and then he was finally turning into that, so we were really excited to watch that flourish."
The hits keep coming, but Smith remains positive even after seeing Miller slammed to the turf and kept out for the remainder of the game Saturday.
"Very (pleased). How they're playing the game, guys like Mike Thomas are just doing everything I'm asking them to do and then some," Smith said. "I’m very excited to walk into my room and go to work."
