It’s been the story that all Ohio State football fans have been following the last couple of weeks. Arguably, the two best wide receivers in college football have each been dealing with a mysterious, nagging injury, and there is worry that it is more serious than anyone is letting on.
And now, according to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, it looks like the duo of Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith is not expected to play against Rutgers, with both being day-to-day.
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Ohio State has historically been pretty mum on injury information for its players, especially since Ryan Day has taken over the program, and that’s been the case here as well. Tate missed the game against Purdue with an undisclosed injury after apparently feeling something in warmups, and we saw Smith with a heavy limp after playing the first half last week against UCLA at home, then relegated to the sidelines for the majority of the second half.
Day has continued to emphasize that neither injury is serious nor long-term, but many harken back to Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s last year, when he suffered what we now know was a hamstring injury against Notre Dame in 2022, tried to work his way back, but ended up not playing another snap and instead focusing on the upcoming NFL draft.
For now, all we can do is believe in what Day continues to say and hope that this is all precautionary in an attempt for both players to be healthy and ready to go for Michigan and beyond. There’s no doubt that Ohio State will need them to do so if it is to break the four-game losing streak against the Wolverines and look to defend its College Football Playoff national championship.
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It looks like the Buckeyes will have to rely on the depth it has at wide receiver in this one. Look for guys like Brandon Inniss, Mylan Graham, and Bryson Rodgers to get plenty of playing time and targets.
Ohio State and Rutgers are set to kick things off at Noon ET. We’ll be there before, during, and after.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate injury status updated ahead of Rutgers
