While the Heisman Trophy is typically thought of as a quarterback trophy, recent years have shown us that a dominant force at other positions is worthy of consideration as well. Just two years ago, a wide receiver (DeVonta Smith) from Alabama brought home the prestigious award.

Heading into the 2022 college football season, it’s no surprise that the odds-on favorites to win the award are signal callers – and there are some red hot names that figure to be prominent fixtures in college football this year, as well as at the top of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

If you’re looking for a bit of a contrarian pick, however, there’s a wide receiver set for a massive season that has a good chance at doubling down on the precedent that Smith started two seasons ago. 

Smith-Njigba is arguably the best wide receiver in the country as he enters his junior season. The Ohio State product spent last season in a crowded wide receiver room with Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave, both of which were upperclassmen and went as two of the first three receivers taken in the 2022 NFL Draft. 

Smith-Njigba led all three of them with 95 receptions for 1,606 receiving yards as a true sophomore. Wilson was second with 1,058 yards, and Olave was third with 936 (both of whom played in 11 games).

He’s good.

Now a junior, Smith-Njigba returns to an Ohio State team with national championship aspirations, which features a quarterback in CJ Stroud that is the betting favorite to win the Heisman (+200). 

Now without Wilson and Olave, it isn’t out of the question that Smith-Njigba could manage to take a step forward. While expecting more than 1,606 receiving yards is a tall ask, it’s the touchdown department that has the potential to put him in the Heisman conversation.

Last year, Smith-Njigba had a respectable nine touchdowns. Wilson had 12, and Olave had 13. In Smith’s Heisman season, he racked up a whopping 23 scores. It will take a season similar in production for Smith-Njigba to earn the title of “most outstanding player in college football.” 

There’s plenty of reason to believe that he can. Ohio State should boast an offense that ranks right at the top of all of college football this season – after all, they led the country with a whopping 45.7 points per game scored last year. With another year of maturation and development for Stroud – who was just a redshirt freshman in 2021 – coupled with having one of the best young running backs in the country in TreVeyon Henderson, there should be plenty of scoring opportunities to go around.

If Smith-Njigba can be the benefactor of Wilson and Olave leaving for the NFL and pick up some of the touchdowns that they left behind, he certainly could throw his hat into the Heisman conversation along with his quarterback.