More details emerge on the absences of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Miyan Williams

Ohio State got some good news and bad news in Saturday’s availability report. TreVeyon Henderson is coming back against Maryland, but Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Miyan Williams are both out for the game.

During ESPN’s College GameDay, Pete Thamel provided more details about both players’ statuses going forward, most notably for next week’s game against Michigan.

Thamel said there’s optimism about Williams’ status for The Game, but Smith-Njigba’s return is still up in the air as he works his way back from a hamstring injury he suffered in Week 1 against Notre Dame.

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“Some good news this morning for Ohio State’s depleted running back room. Star sophomore TreVeyon Henderson, who missed the last two games with a foot injury, will be back at Maryland today for the Buckeyes,” Thamel said. “Ohio State’s other star running back, Miyan Williams, is out today. He did not travel to College Park after getting injured against Indiana. The good news, sources tell me, there’s some optimism about his return for Michigan next week.

“Not as good news for Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Ohio State’s star receiver’s only played in three games this year with a lingering hamstring injury. Smith-Njigba is out again today, and it’s still undetermined when he’ll return for the Buckeyes this season.”

Ryan Day, Ohio State trying to avoid looking ahead entering Maryland game

The Game is almost upon us. With the college football season winding down, it’s almost time for rivalry weekend and that means the latest edition of Ohio State vs. Michigan is on the horizon. The attention that game draws can take away from the Buckeyes and the Wolverines as they make their way toward the end of the year.

However, Ryan Day said he and his staff have done their best to take away from the pressure of that game by applying it every week.

“I think it’s something that comes up every week. It comes up every year this time of the year. … We’ve been saying this all along. March Madness starts the first week of the season around here. So you just have to embrace that and understand what it means to bring it every single week,” Day said. “We’re working for the game at the end of the year every day out of the year. That’s not something that is out of the ordinary to know that that’s always in the back of our minds. That’s like that every week.”

“Our focus right now is on Maryland. Going down there at 3:30, playing really good footbal, and then going from there.”