Ryan Day opens up on how hard it is not having Jaxon Smith-Njigba, praises team for response
The loss of Jaxon Smith-Njigba to injury for most of their opening victory over Notre Dame was more than just an absence on the field for Ohio State. One of the focal points of the Buckeyes offense and arguably the best wide receiver in America, Smith-Njigba is also leader for Ohio State and someone the Buckeyes know makes their offense hum.
His head coach, Ryan Day, expounded on what the loss of Smith-Nijgba meant on Saturday night and at large. Day said you have to be willing to accept that the unknown, and unfortunate, can strike and you better be ready to adapt.
“Like you said, you kind of have to move on,” Day said. “And there’s just different things that happen to you. And we talk a lot about the events that are going to happen. The adversity that’s coming our way. And the only thing that we can control is our response. There’s nothing we can do about what happened. Whether it’s a moment in the game, the score of the game at halftime, or something that happens to your teammate like that.
“So we try to focus on the response so that we get the best outcome that we want. That being said, it’s not always easy, especially when you have a leader and someone who makes such an impact. So, you know, some hurt more than others. Some situations are harder than others.”
Day continued: “But I thought our team did respond. And they, some guys stepped up. Certainly saw what X [Xavier Johnson] did and some of the other guys, and that was good. So, when you go into those first games, you just never know what’s going to happen. I mean if you told me in the national championship game the first drive, Trey Sermon’s going to break his collar bone. Or the first whatever few plays of the game Jaxon was going to be out of this one, I’d be like, ‘Oh my god.’ But those are the things that happen. You have to have plans in place for when those things occur.”
The challenge cuts both ways. Smith-Njigba was surely anticipating a more auspicious start to his third college season. The last time we saw him play, he dazzled with a record-setting performance against Utah in the Rose Bowl. It was only fitting to get to see him again on another marquee stage.
Instead, the most frustrated man in Ohio Stadium on Saturday was probably Smith-Njigba, as No. 11 in scarlet watched his Ohio State teammates grind out a come-from-behind win in the second half.
“It’s hard, especially in big games like that when someone’s worked so hard for that moment, such a big game, and Jaxon certainly enjoys being in big games. He thrives in it,” Day said. “But, we first go to the medical professionals and say, ‘Can he play or not?’ If the answer is no, the answer is no. If the answer is yes, the answer is yes. If it’s somewhere in between, like, ‘Ah we gotta kind of see how he does here.’ Then it depends on kind of the maturity of the player. And with Jaxon, we trust Jaxon. So we wanted his feedback.
“And he tried to see if he could get in there and play. And then just said, ‘I’m just not going to be at my best here. I don’t want to put the team at risk.’ And when you have a more experienced guy who’s played, you trust him a little bit to give you some feedback if it’s one of those things we’re trying to figure out. But at the end of the day, it comes down to the doctors and the trainers.”
While there has been no definitive update on when Smith-Njigba might return, he is expected to make a comeback in the next few weeks.