C.J. Stroud goes to bat for Jaxon Smith-Njigba, speaks out about social media criticism

COLUMBUS — When Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba opted out of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 5, effectively ending his Buckeyes career, he was met with a heap of criticism. It wasn’t just from fans, either.

Most notably, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay said that, according to NFL scouts he had talked to, Smith-Njigba was “healthy enough to play” and that the star wideout, who missed practically the whole season with a nagging hamstring injury, was “protecting himself for the draft.”

“I’ve got news for every prospect out there,” McShay said. “NFL teams know. They know what you had for lunch last Thursday. They’re going to know whether you’re healthy or not, and if you’re healthy enough to play, you need to be out there with your teammates and play. I’m not saying it’s going to hurt his draft stock. We saw Derek Stingley last year — injuries and opting out and all that, and he still was the No. 3 overall pick.”

McShay continued: “But the difference is with Jaxon Smith-Njigba, he is like a late first, early second rounder. He’s a great college player, great slot receiver. But he has some drops. He doesn’t have exceptional size, he doesn’t have exceptional speed. So there were some things that, coming into the year, after the great season that he had, the scouts were pointing to and saying, ‘I’m not sure that he’s a lock to go in the top 15, top 20.’ And so now the fact that he’s not playing certainly isn’t going to help his stock.”

Smith-Njigba’s father and brother came to his defense on Twitter, refuting McShay’s report about Smith-Njigba’s health. Former teammate and current New York Jets rookie standout receiver Garrett Wilson backed Smith-Njigba, too, pointing to the Rockwall, Texas, native’s “big heart.”

Damn, Dr Mcshay.. JSN got a big heart, you don’t know the man. Not to mention, don’t speak on what you don’t know. Simple. Sorry to see this. https://t.co/3s6vprxOTd

— Garrett Wilson (@GarrettWilson_V) December 8, 2022

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and Smith-Njigba have been linked together since the start of last season. They formed an illustrious connection that culminated in a historic Rose Bowl performance against Utah that saw Stroud throw for 573 yards and tie the single-game program record with six touchdowns, and Smith-Njigba set an all-bowl record with 347 receiving yards and a trio of scores.

Stroud was a Heisman Trophy finalist as a redshirt freshman, and Smith-Njigba broke school records with 95 catches for 1,606 receiving yards as a sophomore.

Both were penciled in as Day One draft picks for 2023. The thought was, Stroud could win the Heisman in 2022, and Smith-Njigba could become the second Ohio State player to ever take home the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the best receiver in college football.

Stroud, now a two-time Heisman finalist, came close to the former, however, Smith-Njigba didn’t have a shot at the latter — not after injuring his hamstring in the opener against Notre Dame and playing in just two more games the rest of the season.

Stroud called the criticism of Smith-Njigba “unfair” Wednesday.

“Y’all have no idea the stuff that he’s been through this year,” Stroud said in a passionate two-plus minute answer. “Like no clue. Who are people to talk about my brother like that. You know what I mean? It kind of gets me a little angry that people try to make it seem like he’s not a team player and that he doesn’t care about his teammates. That’s the total opposite. Wrong.”

Stroud said that he’s had daily conversations with Smith-Njigba throughout the season. The redshirt sophomore signal caller, a projected top-five pick in the 2023 draft, emphasized that Smith-Njigba has played a significant role in the development of Ohio State’s younger receivers, namely Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka, both of whom went over 1,000 receiving yards this season.

And, of course, Harrison wound up accomplishing what people thought Smith-Njigba would, finishing the season as a Biletnikoff finalist.

“Jaxon has a phenomenal work ethic,” Egbuka said. “And he’d be the first person to tell you that, if he was healthy, he’d be on the field. And I surely know that. He’s one of the hardest competitors I’ve ever trained with. He didn’t have to come back for Iowa or Toledo. But he just wanted to be on the field so bad. He wanted to play with his brothers.

“I feel like that proves in itself that he would be on the field if he could.”

Stroud went on to discuss social media criticism as a whole. He made it clear that he doesn’t engage with the negative comments and try to prove them wrong or right. But he sees them, and he noted how sad it is that people are so quick to judge players and hold them to a standard that, sometimes, is unrealistic.

Stroud mentioned how, after Smith-Njigba’s spectacular Rose Bowl outing, that prolific stat line — or something close — became the expectation.

“How do you live up to something like that?” Stroud asked rhetorically.

He continued: “It’s sad that I am used to it. I’m used to getting things on my phone that people wouldn’t be proud of if everybody in the world were able to see it. But it’s fine. It comes with the [territory]. You have to accept the good with the bad. I don’t feel bad for myself, I never will.”

Stroud also said he doesn’t want people to feel bad for him. The faith-motivated quarterback knows that, although there will always be critics, he is grateful for the people he inspires.

As irritating as the outside noise can be, Stroud and the Buckeyes are focused on what’s going on internally, not the national perception.

“It’s really Ohio against the world, and we call it the Woody against the world,” Stroud said. “People take that as you want to take it. But, at the end of the day, I feel like we know what we have in this building.”

Stroud is driven to perform for his teammates, and that includes his “brothers” who won’t be able to suit up in the CFP, like Smith-Njigba, running back TreVeyon Henderson — who is having surgery to repair a foot injury Friday — and even former tailback Marcus Crowley, who suffered two significant knee injuries before medically retiring after last season.

“I just want to go out there and do it for them, really,” Stroud said. “Do it for those guys.”