Ohio State star wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate are available for today’s rivalry game at Michigan.
‘They’re going. They’ve done an unbelievable job this week, and they weren’t going to let this game go by without getting in,’ Buckeyes coach Ryan Day told Fox’s Jenny Taft ahead of today’s The Game.
The Buckeyes listed their two injured stars as questionable on their availability report submitted to the Big Ten. Day suggested earlier this week Smith and Tate were available to practice, but he declined to address their availability for The Game.
Smith and Tate sat out the Buckeyes’ win over Rutgers last weekend as they continued to manage unspecified injuries.
Tate last made an appearance for the Buckeyes in a win over Penn State Nov. 1. He was pulled from warmups the following week at Purdue and has remained unavailable this month.
Smith had not been out until last week, though he saw limited snaps in a rout of UCLA on Nov. 15. He caught four passes for 40 yards against the Bruins before leaving early in the second quarter.
Smith conveyed optimism about his return this week when he joined safety Caleb Downs on his podcast and mentioned that he “should be good to go” against the Wolverines.
Few are as valuable to the Buckeyes’ offense as Smith, a dominant pass catcher who had 69 receptions for 902 yards and 10 touchdowns through 10 games and been a favorite target for quarterback Julian Sayin. He was named one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award as college football’s top wide receiver earlier this week.
The combined absences of Smith and Tate was noticeable last week against the Scarlet Knights as Ohio State’s wide receivers combined for just four catches for 33 yards. Max Klare, a tight end who transferred from Purdue, led the Buckeyes with seven catches for 105 yards.