The Ohio State football team is taking on Arkansas State in Week 2 after a monster showdown with Notre Dame. It’s a game that Ohio State is hoping to take care of early so they can rest a lot of their key guys and get some younger players some snaps.
In that game against Notre Dame, the Buckeyes did have some guys suffer injuries. Most notably was wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. He was pulled out of the game with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, although Ryan Day never officially confirmed that.
He was in full pads in practice a couple of days ago but he was walking off the field with a noticeable limp. My guess is that he’s going to want to try and give it a go. If he’s still hurt, they can pull him early. The Buckeyes won’t need him in this game.
Luke Wypler left the game last week in a walking boot. He should be good to go as well. If for some reason Day decides to sit him, Matt Jones would likely slide over to center, and then Enokk Vimahi would be the new starting right guard. I don’t expect they’ll need to do that though.
Julian Fleming did not play at all on Saturday after getting hurt in warmups. Reports say he should be ready to make his season debut this week. Fleming has yet to make a real impact on this team because injuries keep robbing him of the ability to do so.
The same can be said of Kamryn Babb. He is probably going to miss this game too because of an injury he sustained a couple of weeks ago. His entire career has been defined by injuries and he’s never quite been able to shake them.
No matter what the injuries the Ohio State football team is facing, they shouldn’t have any issues winning this game.