Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba Reportedly out vs. Rutgers with Hamstring Injury

Ohio State will have to play Rutgers without wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Per ESPN's Pete Thamel, the junior star will be held out of Saturday's game because of a hamstring injury he originally suffered in the season-opener against Notre Dame.

This will be the third game Smith-Njigba has missed already this season. He sat out wins over Arkansas State on Sept. 10 and Wisconsin on Sept. 24.

The Buckeyes star attempted to play against Toledo on September 17. He had just two receptions for 33 yards in a 77-21 victory.

Thamel noted there is no timetable for Smith-Njigba to return, and the Buckeyes medical staff is treating the injury "with an abundance of caution to make sure he's healthy for the finishing stretch of the schedule."

Expectations were incredibly high for Smith-Njigba coming into 2022. The 20-year-old was a standout for Ohio State last year on a team that also had Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, both first-round draft picks in the 2022 NFL draft, at wide receiver.

Smith-Njigba finished third in the nation with 1,606 receiving yards and tied for ninth with 95 receptions in 2021. He had at least 100 yards in each of Ohio State's final five games, including a school- and bowl-record 347 yards in a 48-45 Rose Bowl victory over Utah.

Despite not having Smith-Njigba for most of the season thus far, Ohio State's passing offense hasn't suffered. Quarterback C.J. Stroud is completing 70.5 percent of his passes for 1,222 yards with 16 touchdowns and one interception. Emeka Egbuka leads the team with 26 receptions and 442 yards. Marvin Harrison Jr. has 387 yards on 21 catches.

Ohio State (4-0) is currently the No. 3 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Its next game against a ranked opponent is on Oct. 29 on the road against No. 11 Penn State at Beaver Stadium.