Ohio State has its first 1,000-yard receiver in three years.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba became the first Ohio State wide receiver to top 1,000 yards since 2018 on Saturday against Purdue, in just the Buckeyes’ 10th game of the season, when his fourth 100-yard game of the season propelled him into quadruple digits for the year. He reached the milestone on a 26-yard catch early in the third quarter.
Smith-Njigba becomes the first Buckeye with 1,000 receiving yards this year just one week after set a school record with 15 receptions against Nebraska, a game in which he also had the second-most receiving yards (240) in a single game in Ohio State history.
Smith-Njigba is the sixth receiver in Ohio State history to top 1,000 yards in a single season, joining David Boston (1,435 in 1998), Terry Glenn (1,411 in 1995), Cris Carter (1,127 in 1986), Michael Jenkins (1,076 in 2002) and Parris Campbell (1,063 in 2018).
Now, the question becomes how many 1,000-yard receivers Ohio State will have this year. As of halftime of Saturday's game against Purdue, Garrett Wilson had 754 receiving yards for the season while Chris Olave had 662 receiving yards for the year, so both of them are well within striking distance of the 1,000-yard mark themselves.
