Former OSU WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba carried the hopes of millions of fans when he led the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl. But that’s not all; he was also carrying the dreams of a grandfather who left Sierra Leone with nothing but determination to make something of himself and his family. And after the win, Njigba paid an emotional tribute to his West African roots, honoring the name that he carries with himself.

“Sierra Leone, you know, my grandfather came to the United States in the 70s, had to work for everything that he had. He brought a lot of people over here, brought a lot of family over here, and he was a leader and took pride in who he was and what he had to give back to,” said the ex-OSU WR.

“And I represent him. I represent my family. I represent Sierra Leone. You know, I appreciate you asking that question. It’s an honor to say that up here in front of y’all, and I take great pride.”

JSN’s grandfather’s name was John Njigba. But when his grandfather immigrated from Sierra Leone to the U.S. in the 1970s, he had changed his name to “Smith” in order to fit in. Following that, the ex-OSU WR, Jaxon, grew up using only the surname “Smith.” But after his grandfather died in 2014, he changed his surname and appended ‘Njigba’ to honor his grandfather and his heritage.

Smith-Njigba’s answer shows how much he values his family. But his connection to his roots went even further. During NFL games, JSN wears the Sierra Leone flag on the back of his helmet. With this kind of mindset, at just 23, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has already arrived as an NFL superstar in Seattle.

He has been one of the vital reasons for the Seahawks’ turnaround from missing last season’s playoffs to vaulting to the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a record of 14-3. This season, he hauled in 119 catches and nearly 1,800 receiving yards. But his performance at Super Bowl LX was limited due to injury. Still, what he did in Columbus clearly reflects why he was the NFL’s leading WR during the regular season.

At OSU, in 2021, he exploded for 1,606 receiving yards, breaking both school and B1G records. Then in 2022, came the Rose Bowl, where he had 15 catches with 347 yards. Just the previous year, he torched Nebraska for 240 yards on 15 grabs, breaking OSU’s single-game receptions mark. In fact, in the coming season, we will definitely see more record-breaking performances from Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But after the injury at Super Bowl LX, is he fully well now?

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s injury update

On Super Bowl LX night, Jaxon Smith-Njigba gave Seahawks fans a brief scare. After a hard tackle, the former OSU star WR exited in the third quarter and headed straight to the locker room for a concussion evaluation. However, relief came quickly when the Seahawks’ WR returned in the 4th quarter.

In fact, Jaxon Smith-Njigba shut down any lingering concern after Seattle clinched its second Lombardi Trophy. And when he was asked about his head, the AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year kept it simple.

“Man,” he said, “I’m on cloud nine right now.”

But JSN finished with four catches for 27 yards and no touchdowns. Surely, it wasn’t a loud night statistically for the league’s regular-season receiving yards leader.  Cooper Kupp paced the offense with six grabs for 61 yards. But it doesn’t matter now. He performed when he had to, and now the former Buckeye is the world champion.