Buckeyes not setting timetable for Jaxon Smith-Njigba return

COLUMBUS — Ohio State coach Ryan Day is confident Jaxon Smith-Njigba will return to the field for the Buckeyes soon.

How soon? Day and the Buckeyes aren’t ready to put any sort of timetable on the All-American receiver as he continues to rehab his way back from an injury that has lingered for the last month.

Day did not give a true update on the status of his top offensive playmaker, who has briefly appeared in games against Notre Dame and Toledo this season. Smith-Njigba, the top returning receiver in college football, has just four catches for 36 yards this fall for the Buckeyes.

But Day did indicate that Smith-Njigba will be back ‘soon’ for Ohio State.

“It’s a long season, and we don’t want to move forward until we all feel really good about everything,” Day said on Tuesday afternoon. “Jaxon still has a mindset of ‘day to day,’ and we’re not going to put any kind of timetable on it. He and the training staff are going to work hard. I know he’s frustrated, but we’re not as far away as we think. If he has the mindset of showing up every day, getting as much treatment as possible and taking care of his body, this will be behind us soon.

“We still have a lot of football to play.”

The key is not to rush Smith-Njigba back. And that’s the route the Buckeyes plan to take in this process for their superstar who had 95 catches for 1,606 yards as a sophomore last year.

His return to action in one of college football’s premier offenses will be up to the medical staff at Ohio State — and, of course, how Smith-Njigba is feeling.

“It’s the medical staff and Jaxon,” Day said. “We always refer to the trainers and the doctor and then get the feedback from the player. We try to do the best we can to keep him as safe as we can in those moments, and we’ll continue to do that.”

Again, the Buckeyes do believe Smith-Njigba will return soon. They’re only one-third of the way through the season, and there’s plenty of games left for Smith-Njigba to showcase his ability as the best playmaker in the country.

But a timetable for him to get back on the field? Not yet set.

Ohio State just knows Jaxon Smith-Njigba will be back soon.