Bucknuts Morning 5

Ohio State is fairly banged up through five games, which is to be expected when playing a violent sport like football. But are the Buckeyes beginning to get healthier overall as a team? You could make that argument, but there are also several players whose statuses remain up in the air as OSU heads to Michigan State on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; ABC).Head coach Ryan Day said he is hoping that Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Cameron Brown and TreVeyon Henderson will play against the Spartans. He also mentioned Jordan Hancock is back practicing at full speed, but they are going to be cautious with him and hold him out until at least after the bye week next week. Kourt Williams has been able to play a little bit, but defensive coordinator Jim Knowles mentioned on Tuesday that Williams is banged up and they need to get him fully healthy.Speaking of Knowles, entering the season Day said his expectation was for the Buckeyes to have a top-10 defense. Well, guess what? Ohio State is ranked exactly 10th in the country in total defense.