Another unsurprising watch list addition: Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of 43 preseason nominees for the Biletnikoff Award, which honors college football’s top pass-catcher.
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
Despite breaking Ohio State’s single-season records for receptions and receiving yards last season, Smith-Njigba was not among the 10 semifinalists for the Biletnikoff Award last year. While Ohio State had three candidates for the award last season in Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, Olave was the only one among them who was named a semifinalist, while none of them were finalists.
That said, Smith-Njigba enters this season as one of the preseason favorites to win the award after his record-breaking Rose Bowl performance – which came after the award went to then-Pittsburgh receiver Jordan Addison – in which Smith-Njigba caught 15 passes for 347 yards and three touchdowns.
Addison, who transferred to USC this offseason, is one of three 2021 Biletnikoff semifinalists on this year’s watch list along with UNC’s Josh Downs and Wake Forest’s A.T. Perry.
