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Jaxon Smith-Njigba

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Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Ohio State Buckeyes – No. 11
PositionWide receiver
ClassJunior
MajorHealth Sciences
Personal information
Born: (2002-02-14) February 14, 2002 (age 22)
Rockwall, Texas
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight198 lb (90 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
High schoolRockwall
Career highlights and awards

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (/ɪnˈdʒɪɡbə/ in-JIG-bə; born February 14, 2002) is an American football wide receiver for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He holds the FBS Bowl Game and Ohio State single game record for most receiving yards with 347 in the 2022 Rose Bowl. He also holds Ohio State records for most catches in a single game with 15 (twice) and most receiving yards in a single season with 1,606 during the 2021 season.

Early life and high school

Smith-Njigba grew up in Rockwall, Texas, and attended Rockwall High School.[1] Smith-Njigba led all high school football players in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex with 97 receptions for 1,828 yards and 20 touchdowns in his junior season.[2] As a senior, he caught 104 passes for 2,094 yards and 35 touchdowns and was named the recipient of both the Landry Award and the Texas Gatorade Football Player of the Year award.[3][4] Smith-Njigba played in the 2019 All-American Bowl and was named a high school All-American by Sports Illustrated and USA Today.[5][6] Smith-Njigba finished his high school career with 5,346 career receiving yards and 82 touchdowns in 44 games played.[7] A 5 star prospect ranked the nations #5 wide receiver recruit, he committed to play college football at Ohio State University over offers from Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ole Miss.[8][9]

College career

2020

Smith-Njigba played in seven games as a freshman and led Ohio State's freshmen with 10 receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown.[10]

2021

He was named a starter at the slot receiver position for the Buckeyes going into his sophomore season.[11] On November 6, 2021, Smith-Njigba recorded 15 receptions (single game school record) for 240 yards (the second most receiving yards in a game in school history at the time) and one touchdown in a 26–17 win against Nebraska.[12] Later that season, he set both an Ohio State single game and FBS Bowl record for receiving yards with 347 in Ohio State's win in the 2022 Rose Bowl.[13] In that game, he also recorded 15 receptions (tying his own record set in the aforementioned Nebraska game) and passed David Boston for the single season receiving yards record at Ohio State with 1,606.

Statistics

Season Games Receiving Returning
GP GS Rec Yards Avg TD Att Yards Avg TD
Ohio State Buckeyes
2020 7 0 10 49 4.9 1 3 11 3.7 0
2021 13 13 95 1,606 16.9 9 8 60 7.5 0
2022 3 3 5 43 8.6 0 0 0 0.0 0
Career[14] 22 15 109 1,691 15.5 10 11 71 6.5 0

Personal life

Smith-Njigba is of half Sierra Leonean descent.[15] Smith-Njigba's older brother, Canaan Smith-Njigba, plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).[16]

References

  1. ^ Landis, Bill (May 19, 2021). "'That's not humanly possible': The prolific high school career of Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba". The Athletic. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Why Rockwall WR, Ohio State pledge Jaxon Smith-Njigba's impressive showing at The Opening almost didn't". The Dallas Morning News. July 3, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Riley Dodge win 2019 Tom Landry Awards". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 10, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Rockwall wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba named Gatorade Texas football player of the year". The Dallas Morning News. December 6, 2019. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  5. ^ Garcia, John (December 16, 2019). "Jaxon Smith-Njigba Named to SI All-American Team". SI.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  6. ^ Ramos, Gus (October 18, 2019). "Ohio State commit Jaxon Smith-Njigba honored as a 2020 All-American". NBCSports.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Jaxon Smith-Njigba poised to become Ohio State's next star at receiver". The Columbus Dispatch. September 16, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State Buckeyes, Wide Receiver". 247Sports. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  9. ^ "Four-Star Wide Receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba Commits To Ohio State". Eleven Warriors. 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  10. ^ "Former Rockwall star Jaxon Smith-Njigba ready to take on larger role in Ohio State's offense". The Dallas Morning News. September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  11. ^ Means, Stephen (September 1, 2021). "Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba headed for breakout game in Ohio State football's season opener against Minnesota? Outrageous Predictions". Cleveland.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Myerberg, Paul (November 6, 2021). "Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba's record-setting day sparks No. 5 Ohio State over Nebraska". USA Today. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
  13. ^ Landis, Bill (January 2, 2022). "Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba sets bowl record with 347 receiving yards vs. Utah in Rose Bowl win". The Athletic. Retrieved January 2, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Jaxon Smith-Njigba College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
  15. ^ Carpenter, Zack (April 25, 2020). "Ohio State's Impactful Nigerian Connections, Relationship with Greg Mattison and Eye-Opening June Visit Were Driving Forces in Tunmise Adeleye's Recruitment". Eleven Warriors. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  16. ^ Hoyt, Joseph (November 27, 2019). "Is Jaxon Smith-Njigba unguardable?". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
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