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Two more Buckeyes shed black stripe

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Two Ohio State freshmen have joined running back Trey Sermon as newcomers who have officially shed their black stripe.

On Monday, Ohio State announced that wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and linebacker Kourt Williams both lost their black stripes this week, becoming the first members of the 2020 recruiting class to receive the honor. Sermon was the first player to shed it during the fall workout period after transferring in from Oklahoma.

Losing a black stripe from the helmet means that a freshman or a transfer student as officially earning the right to be called a Buckeye.

Smith-Njigba was a 5-star receiver in the 2020 class, ranking as the No. 5 player at his position and the No. 28 overall prospect of the cycle. He was the third-highest rated player in Ohio State’s class.

Williams is a 4-star linebacker who was listed as one of the top 200 overall players in the class. He was the No. 12 outside linebacker in 2020.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB