Ohio State Remains Quiet Regarding Stars’ Injury Status

College football is not like the NFL in the sense that teams have to be 100% forthcoming about injuries. With the infiltration of sports betting into every facet of sports media, that seems like it’ll change. Teams currently must provide injury/availability reports, but it is generally only required for conference games. However, they don’t have to be specific to the severity or even nature of the injuries. As a result, when Ohio State was without Carnell Tate in the win over Purdue, folks thought it was just precautionary. Ryan Day said so in both his halftime and postgame interviews, so it felt like he would make it back for the UCLA game.

Then, he was unavailable again. To add injury to injury, Jeremiah Smith was listed as questionable as well. While the star sophomore suited up and made a slight impact, he only played in the first half. As the game went on, and even after the team was singing Carmen Ohio with the band, it was obvious there was something bothering Smith. As a result, Julian Sayin was not virtually perfect as he has been thus far this year.

When asked about Tate and Smith, he said, “Our policy is that we don’t discuss specifics on injuries. And then once you start going down a little bit here, a little bit there, you know, you can create a problem. And so for a number of reasons, we don’t discuss those things.”

So, the questions remain: what’s going on, and can the Buckeyes overcome?

Ohio State Remains Quiet Regarding Stars’ Injury Status

Replacing Tate and Smith

It would be underselling it to say that Tate and Smith are very good receivers, and their absence is felt. The Buckeyes were able to funnel targets to Smith in the Purdue game, but with him hobbled, it was time for others to step up.

Brandon Inniss did a fantastic job filling the void in his first game as the go-to receiver. The senior set a new career-high with six receptions for 30 yards. While that doesn’t scream WR1, three resulted in first downs, and he made uber-athletic catches to keep the drives going. At the same time, Bryson Rodgers, Mylan Graham, and Quincy Porter earned opportunities.

Rodgers scored on a scramble-drill touchdown in the front corner of the endzone for Sayin’s lone passing touchdown. Graham ended up tied with Smith for the team lead with just 40 yards on three receptions. He did have a few drops on the day that you’d expect a former five-star recruit to be able to haul in. Either way, he flashed. As did Porter, the true freshman. Porter only managed 14 yards on one reception, but it was apparent that Day trusted him on the field.

The biggest issue, it seemed, was the fact that Sayin did not have much chemistry with the depth players. Considering Tate and Smith make up 71% of the team’s receptions among wide receivers, it only makes sense. UCLA wasn’t the most willing guinea pig for Sayin to get to know the rest of his receiving corps, but Sayin responded well despite what the final stat line says.

Moving forward, if Tate and/or Smith miss the game against Rutgers, it should be expected that Sayin will do better with Inniss, Graham, and Porter, along with the plethora of receiving threats at tight end.

Silver Lining?

The one positive to come out of the win over UCLA on offense has to be the Buckeyes’ running game. While it wasn’t quite to the level Ohio State is used to, it was much better than what the Buckeyes were getting to this point in the season.

Leading the way is Bo Jackson. It took Jackson no time at all to show that he’s too good to keep off the field. Thankfully, the coaching staff agreed with the fan sentiment and finally gave him the keys of late. In the win, Jackson ran the ball 15 times for a new career-best 112 yards and a touchdown. It was his third game against Power 4 opponents, averaging over five yards per carry, and the fifth time overall. Jackson has an impressive ability to see the rushing lanes develop and can cut upfield with a decisiveness the Buckeyes have been missing.

The emergence of Jackson has softened the blow of missing Tate and Smith. Earlier in the season, the run game wasn’t where it needed to be, as evidenced by Sayin’s 42-attempt game against Wisconsin. Now, with three backs averaging over seven yards per carry against UCLA, Day and Brian Hartline can lean a bit more on the run game. Against Rutgers, the owners of the second-worst run defense in the Power 4, Jackson, Isaiah West, CJ Donaldson, and James Peoples should be expected to carry the load. It’ll likely hurt Sayin’s Heisman prospects. At the same time, if voters are smart and wait until after the championship games, Sayin will have two big-time games against Michigan and, hopefully, second-ranked Indiana to make his case.

Day Not Giving Much

As coaches tend to do, Day is keeping all of this injury talk close to the vest. He’s asserted that both players are day-to-day: “We’ll take it day to day and see how they come in each day. But they’re working hard to get back on the field. And just so you understand, like, we check in every day. We take the advice of the medical staff and use their feedback, and we go from there. So we’ll continue to do that.”

So, in essence, not much to work with. There were rumblings that Tate’s injury was calf/Achilles-related while Smith’s was a back issue. Unless the players themselves confirm it, it’s all speculation.

It makes sense that college football teams are so mum on injuries, as these are still college students, aged anywhere between 18 and 23 or so. Is Day employing some “load management” for his stars, or is there something serious going on?

One way or another, if there is even an inkling of either exacerbating or reinjuring whatever is going on, neither player should suit up this week against Rutgers. It may cost Smith the Biletnikoff this year, but if you ask him or Day, being 100% healthy for Michigan and winning The Game is more important.