Ohio State 2020-2022 WR - Jaxon Smith-Njigba ('21 SN All-American second team, '21 Third Team All-B1G)

JAXON SMITH-NJIGBA, WR
Being a star player often goes a long way toward being selected as a captain, and outside of Stroud, there’s no bigger star on the Buckeyes than Smith-Njigba. And now that Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson are in the NFL, Ohio State is counting on JSN to be a leader of the receiver room right alongside Babb.

“Jaxon’s a guy that needs to be a leader,” Mickey Marotti said in May. “A leader has to be felt, a leader has to be heard, a leader has to be seen every day, all the time.”

Marotti said he was “busting his chops” with that challenge to Smith-Njigba, but the fact that Smith-Njigba was selected to be one of Ohio State’s Big Ten Media Days representatives suggests Smith-Njigba has responded to that challenge.

He might be more of a leader by example than a demonstrative vocal leader, but so was Chris Olave, and Olave was a captain last year. And Smith-Njigba’s fellow receivers have seen him become more of a leader this offseason, with Harrison describing Smith-Njigba this spring as “motivated more than anybody here, probably.”

 

Congratulations to Jaxon Smith-Njigba @jaxon_smith1 for inclusion on the Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List! @OhioStateFB @OhioStAthletics #OutstandingReceiver #NCFAA pic.twitter.com/Dg5TLPKXYJ

— Biletnikoff Award (@biletnikoffawrd) July 21, 2022

 

Another unsurprising watch list addition: Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of 43 preseason nominees for the Biletnikoff Award, which honors college football’s best pass-catcher. https://t.co/NYkSMqiM4J

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) July 21, 2022

 

C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson are named preseason honorees in the Big Ten East Division. https://t.co/QY31ppHUXg

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 25, 2022

 

Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba wants to be best in college football history | Rob Oller https://t.co/sFXov1eUd3

— BuckeyeXtra.com (@BuckeyeXtra) July 29, 2022

 

Trio of Buckeyes racking up preseason honors, named to Walter Camp watch listhttps://t.co/gOYcnJQgCd

— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) July 29, 2022

 

With an encore performance in the range of his incredible 2021 season, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has a shot to eclipse multiple career Ohio State receiving records. https://t.co/jy0xScYc9f

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) August 9, 2022

 

No @OhioStateFB WR had ever caught 15 passes in a game. @jaxon_smith1 went out and did it twice in 2021, including a historic @rosebowlgame effort. 🌹#B1Gstats pic.twitter.com/I5FVV1WHYZ

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) August 15, 2022