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Twitter: @jaxon_smith1
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Ohio State Overview
• Jaxon entered the 2022 season as one of the top receivers in college football – if not the top receiver – and a candidate for national honors
• Was coming off a fabulous 2021 season when he led Ohio State with school-record totals of 95 receptions and 1,606 receiving yards … on a team that also featured first-round NFL Draft picks Garrett Wilson (No. 10 overall to the Jets) and Chris Olave (No. 11 overall to New Orleans)
• Suffered a hamstring injury in the first game of the 2022 season vs. Notre Dame and never made it back to full strength the rest of the year
• Played in just three games in 2022, with the Iowa game on Oct. 22 his final appearance on the field as a Buckeye
• Managed but five receptions for 43 yards in 2022 after his terrific, break-out sophomore campaign of 2021
• Broke 20-year-old Big Ten receiving yards record (1,545 yards in 2001 by Lee Evan, Wisconsin) with his 1,606 receiving yards in 2021
• 95 receptions ranks fifth-most in Big Ten history
• Set Rose Bowl records with 347 receiving yards and 15 receptions with three touchdowns and was named offensive player of the game
• The 347 receiving yards was also an all-time bowl game record, school single-game record, the second-most in Big Ten history and the fifth-highest total in NCAA Division I history
• Had a 240-yard receiving game vs. Nebraska, also on a school-record 15 receptions, and seven games total in 2021 with at least 100 receiving yards
• Closed 2021 with five consecutive games with at least 100 receiving yards while amassing 958 total yards and 60 receptions in those games for averages of 191.6 yards per game and 12.0 receptions per game
• On the strength of his 2021 season, he finished 18th at Ohio State in career receptions (110) and 21st in receiving yards (1,698)
• Played in 23 games and started 16 times
• Played in seven games as a true freshman in 2020 and was tops among freshmen with 10 catches for 49 yards and one touchdown
• His freshman TD was memorable, as he got one foot down in the back of the endzone on a highlight-worthy catch in the opener versus Nebraska
• Caught four passes for 32 yards in a pair of College Football Playoff games
• Majoring in health sciences
Honors & Awards
2021: Rose Bowl game MVP; Third-team All-American (Associated Press); Third-team all-Big Ten Conference
More on Jaxon
• Finished the recruiting cycle with a five-star ranking and was a top 50-ranked player nationally according to 247Sports.com
• Named the Texas 6A State Player of the Year
• No. 5-ranked player overall in the state of Texas
• Played in the Army All-American game in San Antonio
• Participated in The Opening Finals in Dallas
• Compiled 5,346 career receiving yards and 82 touchdowns in 44 career games
• In 13 games as a senior, had 104 catches for 2,094 yards and 35 touchdowns
• 2,264 yards from scrimmage with 39 touchdowns
• Was the leading receiver in the Dallas area as a junior in 2018, hauling in 97 passes for 1,828 yards and 20 touchdowns for head coach Rodney Webb
• First team all-area by the Dallas Morning News
• Caught 14 passes for 267 yards and three TDs in a 2018 playoff game vs. Allen
• A first team Class 6A all-state selection
• Member of the Austin American-Statesman’s 2020 Fab 55
• Top-rated receiver in the Dallas area by the Dallas Morning News
• As a sophomore in 2017, caught 83 passes for 1,328 yards and nine touchdowns
• Is the son of Jami Smith and Maada Smith-Njigba
