Stroud throws shade on JSN detractors
COVER PHOTO: Quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) zips a pass for wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) during their game against Penn State in Ohio Stadium on Oct. 30, 2021. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
Don’t talk trash about C.J. Stroud’s “brother”, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, because if you do, Stroud will let you know what’s up.
On Wednesday, several Ohio State players appeared before the media in anticipation of Ohio State’s Dec. 31 semifinal matchup in the Peach Bowl versus No. 1 Georgia, including Ohio State's third-year quarterback. When asked a simple question about wanting to go out, play hard and win the game for Smith-Njigba, as well as running back TreVeyon Henderson due to foot surgery, it elicited a response from Stroud that was a borderline rant.
“I know that people were talking that, ‘he should play’, and you all have no idea the stuff that he’s been through this year, like no clue,” said Stroud. “So who are people to talk like that about my brother, 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 he doesn’t care about his teammates. That’s the total opposite wrong.”
When the college football playoff committee announced on Sunday, Dec. 4 that the Buckeyes were in as the No. 4 team, a lot of buzz began circulating about Smith-Njigba’s potential return.
He would have almost another entire month to continue rehabbing his injured hamstring and surely he’d be ready to rock, right?
Wrong.
The next day after the CFP committee made their announcement who was in the playoff and who was out, Smith-Njigba declared via Twitter that he was forgoing the remainder of this season to concentrate on preparing for the NFL draft. The proclamation came one day after head coach Ryan Day said he didn’t know what Smith-Njigba’s plans were for the semifinal.
When Smith-Njigba posted the tweet it, of course, set social media ablaze with all sorts of accusations that he was lying, he was faking the injury all year, there were no doctors telling him he wouldn’t be ready, it’s his agent telling him to sit, yada yada yada.
ESPN’s Todd McShay even made a bold announcement during the Dec. 6 edition of “College Football Live” that Smith-Njigba was healthy enough to play and said, “there are a lot of reports from NFL scouts I've talked to that have said, 'He's healthy enough to play and he's protecting himself for the draft.'”
At that point, both Smith-Njigba’s dad, Madaan, and his brother, Canaan, had heard enough and sent out tweets of their own to clarify where Jaxon was at in the rehabbing process.
“Being w(ith) my son yesterday for his first day of rehab and seeing his limitations for myself gave me peace w(ith) our families (sic) choice to get my son healthy. Encouraging him (to) play would be selfish and abusive. I’m at peace (because) I know he’s in the right hands (for) recovery,” Madaan said on Twitter.
“If he was healthy he would be playing.. like what?? We not protecting our “Draft stock” they know who JSN is when healthy. You sorry @McShay13 and so wrong to be on tv making these false claims,” was Canaan’s retort.
As most everybody knows (or should know) at this point, Smith-Njigba basically sat out his entire junior season after suffering a hamstring injury on the first pass he caught with a little over eight minutes played against Notre Dame in the season-opener.
After making the four-yard catch, galloping towards the near sideline and then getting walloped so hard by two Fighting Irish defenders out of bounds that his helmet came off, he stood up with a dazed look on his face. From there, he spent time on an exercise bike and, according to ESPN’s Holly Rowe, was complaining about pain in his left knee and hamstring.
He would return with 5:30 to go in the second quarter and caught a pass for a one-yard loss and it was obvious something wasn’t right. The training staff took his helmet and he never returned.
His absence extended into their next game against Arkansas State but he gave it another try in their third game against Toledo. Once again, though, he didn’t look complete and after his second catch of the game with 10 minutes left in the second quarter, he was once again sat for the rest of the game.
He wouldn’t return to action again until four games later against Iowa on Oct. 22. After pulling up lame on a deep out route towards the sideline midway through the second quarter, his day concluded with one catch for seven yards and was the last catch of his OSU career as he never appeared in another game.
After setting numerous single-game and single-season records last year, he concluded his third season in a scarlet and gray jersey with five catches for 43 yards and no touchdowns.
He ranks first in school history in single-season receiving yards and catches (1,606 and 95, respectively) and holds the school record for both receptions in a game (15, against Nebraska and Utah last year) and receiving yards (347). His 110 career receptions and 1,698 career receiving yards currently put him at Nos. 18 and 21.
Despite barely being on the field for the Buckeyes this season, Stroud said he was on the phone with Smith-Njigba every day and JSN was still playing and integral role for the team, especially for sophomore receivers Marvin Harrison, Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
"He helped out Marv so much this year, he helped out Mek, those dudes who got to step up. It's unfair for people to try and ridicule Jaxon or Tre or anybody who's out with injury because that (injury) is the worst part of this game."
See more of Stroud’s interview HERE.
The Peach Bowl is slated for an 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, Dec. 31.