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Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s star keeps getting bigger, and Ohio State’s latest announcement is another sign of it.

Ohio State Athletics revealed that the Seahawks wide receiver will ring the bell to kick off the Buckeyes’ 2026 spring game, bringing one of the program’s biggest recent stars back to Columbus for one of its most visible offseason events. The school’s social post promoted JSN’s Super Bowl championship and NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, hyping his return to Ohio Stadium for the April 18 scrimmage.

For Seattle, this is the kind of moment that says a lot about where Smith-Njigba stands entering the next phase of his career. He is not just a productive receiver coming off a breakout year anymore. He is now the type of player former programs want front and center, the type of player franchises build marketing around and the type of player opponents have to game-plan for first.

Ohio State’s honor reflects Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s new place in the sport

Programs do not hand these spotlight roles to just anybody.

Smith-Njigba’s return to ring the bell lands differently because of what happened over the past several months. He finished the 2025 season with 119 catches for 1,793 yards and 10 touchdowns for Seattle, numbers that made him one of the league’s most productive receivers and helped push him into a different class of NFL star.

That season ended with even bigger recognition. Smith-Njigba was named the 2025 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year at NFL Honors, a rare level of league-wide validation for a receiver and an unmistakable sign that he is no longer simply known as a former first-round pick with upside. He has already arrived.

From Ohio State’s perspective, the appeal is obvious. Smith-Njigba remains one of the most recognizable alumni from the program’s recent run of NFL talent, and now he returns carrying championship and award-season credibility that only boosts the event.

Why this matters for the Seahawks’ offseason

Seattle has spent this offseason making it clear that Smith-Njigba is one of the pillars of the organization. The <a href="https://www.seahawks.com/news/seahawks-extend-jaxon-smith-njigba-a-foundational-piece-a-cornerstone-of-our-team” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Seahawks signed him to a four-year, $168.6 million extension in March, and team decision-makers publicly described him as “a foundational piece” and “a cornerstone of our team.”

That language matters. Teams do not use it lightly, especially not on a deal that reset the wide receiver market. It tells fans exactly how Seattle views him after his monster season: not as part of the core, but as one of the faces of the core.

So when Ohio State puts Smith-Njigba at the center of a marquee spring event, it reinforces what Seattle already knows. His profile is expanding beyond box scores. He is becoming one of the franchise’s defining public figures, the kind of player who represents the team as much as he produces for it.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba is now carrying Seahawks and Buckeyes brand power

Smith-Njigba has always had name recognition because of his Ohio State background and his unforgettable college production, but the past year has moved him into a different lane. He now carries crossover visibility between college football and the NFL in a way very few Seahawks players do.

That matters for a franchise heading into another offseason of expectation. A player who can anchor the offense, command national attention and symbolize the organization’s future has real value beyond Sundays. Smith-Njigba is now doing all of that.

And that is why Ohio State’s announcement feels bigger than a ceremonial spring-game role. It is really another public checkpoint in the rise of a player who has become one of the most important figures in Seattle’s present and one of the most recognizable success stories in Ohio State’s recent pipeline to the NFL.