The Buckeyes’ freshman phenom is already in the record books.
With his 18-yard catch against Penn State to end the third quarter, Jeremiah Smith has officially broken Ohio State’s freshman receiving record, taking only eight games to do it. The five-star phenom came to Columbus with all of the hype in the world, and he has backed up his recruiting rankings immediately with a spot in the Buckeyes’ record book.
Carter played for Ohio State from 1984-86, and has long been lauded as one of the greatest wide receivers to ever suit up for the scarlet and gray. The eventual NFL Hall of Famer and eight-time Pro-Bowler made his mark in Columbus immediately once he arrived on campus, posting 41 catches for 648 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman — marks that have all stood for 40 years as the best for a first-year player even with an increased focus on the passing game in today’s world of college football.
That is, until today.
A 6-foot-3 pass-catcher out of Opa Locka, Florida, Smith came to Ohio State as the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 1 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class. Virtually no comparisons to the greatest to ever play the position seemed off-limits to liken to Smith’s talent, drawing comparisons to once-in-a-generation-type prospects like Julio Jones and AJ Green.
Here is just part of the scouting report on Smith from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:
“Checks off box after box for talent evaluators as he has NFL bloodlines and is also a decorated track athlete, having captured gold medals in both hurdle events as a junior. Extensive body of work, which includes dozens and dozens of in-person evaluations, suggests that he’s the safest bet in the 2024 cycle and a future playmaker for a College Football Playoff contender that can handle a high-volume of targets. […] Should see the field early on in collegiate career and then eventually suit up on Sundays as a Day 1 selection.”
After becoming an immediate starter at wide receiver for the Buckeyes this season, it has become clear that all of the hype surrounding Smith as a high school prospect is warranted and then some. Even with a treasure trove of fellow former five-star talents in the position group ahead of him, Smith has instantly vaulted himself into at worst the 1B to Emeka Egbuka’s 1A, if not the top dog on some Saturdays.
It took Smith no time at all to adjust to the college game, going off for 92 yards on six catches with two touchdowns in Ohio State’s first contest of the season against Akron. He followed that up with a team-high 119 yards on five catches with another touchdown against Western Michigan the following week and has recorded at least 70 receiving yards and at least one touchdown catch in each of his first seven career games.
It isn’t just the statistics that jump off the page for Smith, but how he is getting it done. The immensely talented pass-catcher has already put on seemingly a full career’s worth of highlight plays in only a few games, whether it be a short catch he turns into a 70-yard touchdown or a one-handed grab in the face of a defender. Virtually any ball in Smith’s vicinity is almost definitely going to be caught, and he has already become a reliable and consistent safety blanket for Will Howard in any situation despite being a freshman.
It seems hard to believe that someone with his physical makeup and skillset is only 18 years old, but he is truly a special player that now holds a place in the Ohio State record books. With the receiving yardage record already in the books, it is only a matter of time — likely one of the next few games — before Smith also holds the freshman record for both receptions and receiving touchdowns (having already tied the TD mark).