One game into the 2021 season, the pecking order among Ohio State’s wide receiver corps seemed firmly entrenched.
Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson were a cut above, and despite his five-star talent and obvious potential, Jaxon Smith-Njigba was still a rung below. Something didn’t quite click between the second-year wideout and new starting quarterback C.J. Stroud in the season opener, as the pair connected just twice for a total of 12 yards against Minnesota.
Two days before the final game of the season, that hierarchy has changed entirely.
Smith-Njigba had already proven himself well worthy of the status of his more established counterparts during the regular season, but following Olave and Wilson’s decision to opt out of the Rose Bowl, the Buckeyes’ star slot receiver has quickly become the foremost pass-catching threat on the roster.