Jaxon Smith-Njigba on CJ Stroud: He's a more mature quarterback

If the Rose Bowl was any indication of the kind of junior season Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will have, the Heisman Trophy would already have been won. Smith-Njigba’s season finale saw him catch 15 balls for 347 yards and three touchdowns. All those passes came from Buckeye quarterback CJ Stroud who will be key in his production in 2022 as well.

Smith-Njigba talked about Stroud’s development this summer and how he has grown heading into the season. He says the improvement over his workouts during his time in college has put him on another level.

“Just time, what time does to you. I’ve seen him put in countless hours of work,” said Smith-Njigba.

The redshirt sophomore QB was one of the best in the nation last year. He threw for 4,435 yards and 44 touchdowns on a 71.9% completion percentage. He also led the nation in QBR at 91.6. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was one of the main beneficiaries of those numbers with 1,606 of those yards and nine of Stroud’s touchdowns on 95 catches.

With that time on the field has eventually led to a new level of maturity for Stroud as well. Smith-Njigba believes it has helped his decision making as the leader of the Buckeye’s offense.

“I feel like we’ve all changed. I feel like one of his things that he’s going to show is he’s a more mature quarterback,” said Smith-Njigba. “(He) makes the right decisions and stuff like that, which is a big deal as a quarterback. Yeah, he’s definitely more mature I would say.”

With Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson off to the NFL, Stroud to Smith-Njigba is in line to be the next great Buckeye QB to receiver connection. It was the Buckeyes best duo last year even with those two on the roster. With another year of growth under both of their belts, it should lead to many more trips to the end zone in Columbus this fall.