Jaxon Smith-Njigba wasn’t ready to crown Ohio State as Wide Receiver U six months ago, but he is now.
During an appearance on The Pivot Podcast last August, Smith-Njigba surprised Ohio State fans by saying he would give LSU the title of Receiver U “this second,” though he also said he thought he and his fellow Ohio State receivers would “have something to say about that in a few.”
Smith-Njigba’s certainly had something to say about that with his play since then, leading the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards during the 2025 regular season and leading the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl. And when he was asked about Ohio State being Wide Receiver U during Monday’s Super Bowl Opening Night, Smith-Njigba made it clear that he thinks Ohio State deserves that crown now.
“When you look at the list (of elite receivers from Ohio State), it's a long list and it's about to grow even more,” Smith-Njigba said. “It's just too much elite talent from top to bottom in the league and guys that were in the league past, past years. So I think when you bring it all together and you look at the names and what we’ve done, I think there's no question now.”
Smith-Njigba leads a contingent of former Ohio State receivers now starring in the NFL that also includes Chris Olave, Terry McLaurin, Emeka Egbuka, Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., among others. This spring, Carnell Tate will become Ohio State’s sixth first-round draft pick at wide receiver in five years. Jeremiah Smith will make it seven first-round wide receivers in six years after one more season at Ohio State as the best wide receiver in college football.
Ohio State was never far from the mind of Smith-Njigba, the heavy favorite to win the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year award at Thursday’s NFL Honors, during Monday’s media night. Asked which Buckeye he’d most like to team up with in flag football at the 2028 Olympics, Smith-Njigba answered with Garrett Wilson and “a lot of my Ohio State Buckeyes.” Asked which NFL player he’d most like to dunk on in basketball, Smith-Njigba named his friend and former Ohio State quarterback, C.J. Stroud.
Jaxon Smith Njigba talked about his former Buckeye teammates a couple times at Super Bowl Opening Night
— Adam King (@AdamKing10TV) February 3, 2026
If you could dunk on one NFL player who would it be: CJ Stroud "I can do that"
In the 2028 Olympics who would you want to be teammates with: "A lot of my Ohio State Buckeyes" pic.twitter.com/5o5b9jkmnI
Asked how Ohio State has helped him get to where he is now, Smith-Njigba said “competing at Ohio State and development at Ohio State is second to none” and said he’s still friends with many of his former Ohio State teammates. One of those friends is New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, who he’ll play against on Sunday (6:30 p.m., NBC) and who had great things to say about Smith-Njigba during his own interview session on Monday.
“He’s such a great player, I have so much respect for him, and I just look forward to seeing him after the game,” Henderson said of Smith-Njigba.
"We had a chance to get really close in the two years we played with each other."
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) February 3, 2026
TreVeyon Henderson said he and Jaxon Smith-Njigba were close while playing with each other at Ohio State#SuperBowILX pic.twitter.com/hCDLpS7ucZ
Smith-Njigba and Henderson are among three former Ohio State players who will play in Super Bowl LX, along with New England Patriots offensive tackle Thayer Munford, while former Buckeye defensive end Mike Vrabel is the Patriots’ head coach.
Like Smith-Njigba, Henderson also said Ohio State played a big role in helping him get to where he is now.
“They do such a great job of just preparing us for the NFL,” Henderson said. “Honestly, although it’s been a tough journey, it’s kind of been an easy transition in a sense. I just feel like Ohio State has done such a great job of just developing us on and off the field, so that has helped me out a lot.”
Treveyon Henderson on how Ohio State shaped him for the NFL and how he is able to continually lean on Jesus pic.twitter.com/viAbMIV84g
— Brady Penn (@bradypenn21) February 3, 2026
