COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jaxon Smith-Njigba is ready for the attention that comes with being Ohio State football’s best offensive weapon.
Six months ago, he was the third wheel in a wide receiver room featuring the nation’s best tandem in Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. It was probably a fair assumption that whoever started alongside them would have a usage similar to what Jameson Williams had in 2020 when he recorded only nine catches for 154 and two scores. Targeting the other two most of the time worked all season getting the Buckeyes to the National Championship Game.
That same philosophy seemed to be in place in this season’s 45-31 opening win over Minnesota when Smith-Njigba had just two catches for 12 yards.
But getting him involved as the slot receiver unlocked the offense and often made him C.J. Stroud’s most valuable weapon. That chemistry grew weekly before he exploded with a record-breaking 15-catch, 240-yard performance against Nebraska.
“As the season went on, you had to count on me for (more),” Smith-Njigba said. “I’m sure defenses talked about me. I would hope.”
From that moment on, Smith-Njigba started making his case for why he might actually have the highest ceiling of the three. He was the first to reach 1,000 yards this season — the sixth time in school history a receiver had done that — and closed out the season with 45 catches for 611 yards and three touchdowns in the last four games.
Ohio State’s offense is often designed for the slot receiver to get the highest usage, but his team-high 80 catches for 1,259 yards his season are also a result of being at best the third option teams were most worried about.
The first goal was to limit the deep ball opportunities to Olave. The second was trying to contain the explosive Wilson as much as possible. You can even throw in TreVeyon Henderson, who validated his five-star status as a running back within the first three weeks of the season.
That often left Smith-Njigba as the guy benefitting from defenses worrying about everybody else. That won’t be the case next season.
“I look forward to going against the best guys every week,” Smith-Njigba said. “I didn’t get a lot of it because they’re busy with Garrett and Chris sometimes. But I look forward to all the great matchups again their best DB.”
Whether Olave and Wilson choose to play in the Rose Bowl or not, their time as Buckeyes is ending. Both are locks to be first-round NFL Draft picks in April, leaving Smith-Njigba as the lone returning starter, with a handful of five-star and top-100 recruits set to join him.
There’s a chance he’ll come into the 2022 season with the reputation of being the nation’s best wide receiver and favorite to win the Fred Biletnikoff Award. That means his days of catching people off guard are over. No one will be surprised if he has another toe-tap touchdown catch in the back of the end zone as he did as a freshman against Nebraska in 2020. If he takes a 10-yard pass for a 75-yard touchdown as he did against the Cornhuskers this season, that won’t be surprising either.
Now he’ll deal with opposing defensive coordinators scheming up game plans designed to take away those things. He gets to face the best defensive back every week, making his life difficult while teams force Stroud to look at the other options like Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming and Marvin Harrison Jr. But that’s what he signed up for.
“I’m a competitor,” Smith-Njigba said. “I like going against the best because I feel like I’m the best. That’s what drives me. That’s what makes me better. That’s where I really come out and play, so I’m really looking forward to that.”
At Rockwall High School, he played everywhere while developing into a five-star recruit in the 2020 class. Doing so is why he graduated third in career catches (296), second in yards (5,403) and third in touchdowns (63) in Texas high school football history.
“I feel comfortable doing whatever’s best for the team going outside or inside,” Smith-Njigba said. “I’m sure I’ll probably do a little bit of both this next year. It’ll be fun.”
If Olave chooses to play against Utah, there’s a good chance by game’s end Ohio State will have eight 1,000-yard receiving seasons in school history, with three this year.
No one has ever accomplished that feat twice, and Smith-Njigba is in a great position to be the first to do so after a sophomore season that ended up being better than anyone would’ve expected. And he’s not even the best version of himself yet.
He came into 2021 with little to no expectations, but very few will have higher ones than him in 2022.
That’s a challenge he’s been looking forward to ever since he walked on campus.
“I’m ready to be a leader in the room,” Smith-Njigba said. “I’m ready to lead the young guys. I accept the challenge. I’m looking forward to that challenge. It’s a great opportunity and a blessing.”
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