Ohio State: Jaxon Smith-Njigba ruled out by Buckeyes at Penn State

How long the star wide receiver will be out remains to be seen. But his second return to the lineup for the Buckeyes was just as short as the first, and it once again ended with the junior unable to play the next week for the program.

Multiple sources have indicated to Dotting The Eyes that the re-aggravation of his hamstring issue is likely to rule Smith-Njigba out indefinitely for Ohio State. But at this point the Buckeyes have only scratched him definitively from the critical road trip to Penn State on Saturday at noon.

"He's always been trying to get back out there," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said on Tuesday the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. "He's a competitor, and it's been hard for him not to be out there more.

"But we wanted to make sure that we kept that [snap count] number right about 20 and make sure that we didn't put them out there anymore."

Smith-Njigba clearly felt a tweak in his injured hamstring at the end of that limited workload, going to the sideline and receiving medical attention from three trainers on the Ohio State sideline last week.

Multiple sources confirmed that Smith-Njigba was not on campus this week for practice while seeking outside medical opinions with an eye on still trying to return for the Buckeyes this season. Given the second setback, it's at least now possible that he won't have that option based on the feedback he received this week about yet another recovery plan.

Smith-Njigba remains the highest-profile entry on the Status Report, but he's not the only projected starter unavailable for the matchup against Penn State. The full list according to Ohio State was confirmed on Saturday morning, making note that the program doesn't reveal injury information or specify potential disciplinary measures.