ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
LEAP YEAR COMING
Knowing Ohio State had a deadly 1-2 punch in the receivers room with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, I still expected true freshmen Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming to make a noticeable impact on the 2020 receiving stats.
The abbreviated season following an extremely short spring no doubt compromised their development but I did not expect a combined 17 catches for 121 yards from the duo.
Smith-Njigba had one of the highlight catches of the entire season but the fact his 10 catches (on 163 snaps) averaged 4.9 yards made me think it was a misprint at first. His longest catch of the season was 15 yards. Smith-Njigba proved to be a very effective downfield blocker especially for a first year player.
For his part, Fleming had seven catches on 128 offensive snaps and seemed a little of out sync at times, dropping a few balls despite being wide open.
Under the watchful eye of Brian Hartline, I expect both players to make huge leaps next fall as they earn their position coach's trust, allowing him to revert back to a more even distribution of snaps among his top four guys.
Just sayin': Also throw Jayden Ballard, Marvin Harrison Jr, and Emeka Egbuka in the mix.