Ohio State could welcome Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming back to the wide receiver rotation against Toledo this weekend.
Head coach Ryan Day said he is hopeful Smith-Njigba, who suffered a leg injury in the first quarter of the Notre Dame, will be back in uniform against the Rockets. However, he will still listen to the program's medical staff and will not put Smith-Njigba on the field unless he is fully healthy.
"He's further along in the rehab process than he was at this point a week ago," Day said. "We're going to expect him to play this weekend. We'll see how this week goes. We'll only put him in the game if he's 100 percent and ready to roll."
Day also updated Fleming's status for Saturday's contest, claiming the third-year receiver is expected to play in his first game of the 2022 season after missing the first two weeks with an undisclosed injury. Day said Smith-Njigba and Fleming's progression through rehab is "very similar." He is pleased with how Fleming has worked his way back to strength.
Like with Smith-Njigba, Day and his staff will not rush Fleming back to the field unless he is fully healthy and feels comfortable playing an entire game.
Fleming's absence has allowed more opportunities for Emeka Egbuka and Jayden Ballard to enter the mix on the outside. Day said Ohio State had always planned to roll out offensive packages with various receivers earning snaps. That will again be the plan with a fully healthy Fleming.
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud said the wide receivers have excelled without Smith-Njigba and Fleming. Still, Stroud said they offer skill sets that will help the Buckeyes once they return to action. The second-year signal-caller specifically mentioned Fleming as a weapon defensive coordinators need to plan for when scouting their team.
"Julian is very versatile. He's very dynamic," Stroud said. "When he comes back, he'll definitely be used a lot."
Although confident in his current assortment of wideouts, Stroud said it would mean a lot to have both Smith-Njigba and Fleming back in the lineup.
"It will be exciting to get two dynamic playmakers back," Stroud said. "Even if they don't come back, I know we'll be fine, but hopefully they do."
Day also offered an update on second-year cornerback Jordan Hancock, who was unavailable against the Red Wolves on Saturday. He said the Buckeyes are hopeful that he’ll be good to go this week.
"We would love to have Jordan back," defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said on Tuesday. He added that Hancock's presence would add much-needed depth to the Ohio State secondary with only six scholarship cornerbacks.
Day's final injury update was for defensive tackle Mike Hall Jr, who was knocked out of the Arkansas State game in the third quarter with an upper-body ailment. After that game, Day did not express much concern over Hall. He said Tuesday that Hall passed all evaluations and tests from the medical staff.
