The Buckeyes took care of Illinois, 34-16. But they almost lost their best player in the process. That’s right, their star WR Jeremiah Smith had to leave the field for a short time in the third quarter after getting hit and directly landing on his back. This is where the concerns began. And it’s clearly visible from Ryan Day’s postgame update.

What exactly happened? It was first down with 10 yards to go in Illinois’s end zone. Buckeyes did a simple trick play. A reverse handoff, where Jeremiah Smith got the ball and ran with blockers ahead of him. Now, in that moment, ideally two of his defenders should have blocked against the defense, but they couldn’t do it, and Illinois’s Torrie Cox Jr. got in between and tackled him. Smith’s whole body was flipped due to the hit and he landed on his head. He stayed down for a while as trainers looked at him and then took him to the sideline. They were examining his lower back. Despite the setback, he was able to return to the field.

Even though the injury didn’t take Smith out of the game, the possibility of losing him for even a small period of time must have scared Ryan Day. The HC made his feelings clear to the media after the game: “Jeremiah is, I can’t say enough about him… In a game like this, we found ourselves down in there a lot, and ran the ball a lot… On that play, we had an opportunity to really have an X play. We actually had two guys there to block one, didn’t happen and so he ended up taking a shot that we don’t want to see happen. But he was able to recover. He’s a tough player.”

Jeremiah Smith plays a very crucial role in Ohio State’s offense and is considered the no. 1 WR in college football. It’s evident that losing him was not an option, and that’s exactly why his return gave a sense of relief to the team. Why wouldn’t it? This guy recorded 35 receptions for 463 yards and six touchdown catches. That potential also puts him in the race for first-round pick and to even be a Heisman favorite. But he’s not the only one who suffered an injury during the game.

Ryan Day gives update on another injury

Despite entering all banded up into the game, Ryan Day’s troops didn’t let setbacks hold them from winning. That’s right, Buckeyes were without 11 players in the game and even without their starting defensive back, Lorenzo Styles and defensive tackle Eddrick Houston. After playing in all five games of the season, Styles couldn’t show up against Illinois because of an upper-body injury.

To make matters worse, even RB Bo Jackson suffered a major injury. After nine minutes were left in the third quarter, Jackson didn’t run the ball anymore. Fox TV announcers made the news that he might have suffered a lower leg injury during the game. Losing a guy like him is a major problem for the team’s offense.

After the game Ryan Day gave an update on him and said, “He could’ve kept playing.” This shows that the concern is still not that major, and he might return back on the field for their next game against Northern Illinois.