While Ohio State won’t have either TreVeyon Henderson or Jaxon Smith-Njigba available for the Peach Bowl, several other key Buckeyes who have battled injuries this season are expecting to be fully healthy for the College Football Playoff semifinal against Georgia on New Year’s Eve.
Cameron Brown exited the Michigan game in the final minute of the first half after suffering what he described as a “little stinger,” but the starting cornerback – who also missed five games in the middle of the season due to undisclosed injuries – said Wednesday he is feeling “really healthy” now.
“It was nothing much,” Brown said of the stinger he suffered in The Game. “It was more annoying than anything that I couldn't just go out there and finish. But it's alright. I'm not dwelling on it no more. I’m glad I got another chance. So I'm gonna just go out there, give it all I can.”
Miyan Williams, who saw limited action against Michigan after missing the previous game against Maryland with an ankle injury he suffered against Indiana, said he is “feeling good” and “ready to play.” Likely to start at running back against Georgia with Henderson out, Williams said he “rolled my ankle real bad” in the Indiana game and “wasn’t all the way healthy” when he returned to action against Michigan, but he believes he will be back to 100% by the end of the month.
“I probably got to work through it a little bit, but that's the plan, to be 100,” Williams said Wednesday. “I’ve been able to do most of the stuff (in practice).
Mike Hall Jr. was limited by injuries throughout the final month of the season, playing no more than 19 snaps in any of Ohio State’s final four games, but he is confident the five-week layoff between the loss to Michigan and the Peach Bowl will enable him to be back to full-go for the CFP.
“I'll be 100% leading up to the game. I feel like these weeks will allow me to get better,” Hall said. “Our trainers and (defensive line coach Larry Johnson), we came up with a practice plan of like what I'll do and what not to do in practice. So yeah, I feel like they've been on my side helping me get back to 100%.”
All three of Brown, Williams and Hall have had to deal with the frustrations of being banged up all year long. Brown has battled his Ohio State career while Williams also dealt with hand and knee injuries this season. Hall didn’t specify what his injuries were but said he has been dealing with “bangs and bruises” dating back to the first month of the season, which led to decreased playing time throughout the year after he began the season as a starter.
They all said they’ve tried not to let their frustrations get the best of them, though, as they’ve worked hard to battle through their injuries and play as much as they can.
“I mean, it's part of the game,” Brown said. “If I get frustrated about it, it's not gonna do nothing for me. So I just try to keep a level head and just keep going from there.”
Hall, who said he felt like he was playing at about 80-85% with his injuries, said he had conversations with Ohio State’s medical staff and coaching staff about whether he should take some time off during the regular season. But he told them he wanted to keep playing as much as he could.
“I didn't want to sit down. I feel like I would have let the team down, really,” Hall said. “So I took that initiative on me just to come out here and just trying to get in the treatment room and just to come out here and support my guys.”
Similarly, Williams felt like he couldn’t sit out the Michigan game even though he wasn’t feeling like his usual self.
“I needed to play that game. So I kind of just took it on the chin, just did what I could, as much as I could,” Williams said.
Williams said he spends “hours in the training room” each day trying to get himself back to 100%, and Hall said he had just left the training room before his interview session Wednesday morning. All three of them – and likely many other players whether we know they’re injured or not – have been working hard behind the scenes in hopes of getting back to being the best versions of themselves when they take the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 31.
“You would be surprised what these guys go through behind closed doors,” Hall said. “Even in these interviews, you know, you can't say everything you’re going through. You always got to keep that to yourself. But it definitely is like a motivating factor that I am going through something, but every day is a fight and that's our motto here, fight every day.”
Hall, who recorded 7.5 tackles for loss in Ohio State’s first six games of the season but none in the Buckeyes’ final six games of the regular season, feels like he “was just only scratching the surface of my potential and just showing people like what I could do healthy” before he got hurt. He’s anxious to remind everyone how good he can be when he is at full strength.
“I'm ready to get back on the field, just can't wait to unleash and just go crazy,” Hall said.
Williams, who ran for only 34 yards on eight carries against Michigan, is likewise eager to redemonstrate the running back he can be when he’s at full speed.
“Oh yeah,” Williams said with a smile. “It’s definitely, definitely coming.”
