After a historic freshman campaign, where exactly can Smith go next, and will working with a first-year starting quarterback hurt his production?
No one needed scouts and coaches telling to tell them Jeremiah Smith would be a great college wide receiver. His name has been on the lips of recruiting services for a while, and his physique alone would suggest there was something special about the Buckeye out of Miami Gardens, Florida.
Still, it was a surprise how quickly Smith adapted to the college game. He looked like a veteran from the jump, compiling 92 yards and scoring two touchdowns in his first college game.
In his next six games, he scored a touchdown in each one and posted two 100-yard receiving days on his way to school freshman records for most receiving yards (1,315), receptions (76), and touchdowns (15), torching the old marks set by Cris Carter that had stood for four decades.
A lot of great wide receivers have come through Ohio State in the last 40 years — some of the best of those coming in the last decade during the modern game’s pass-happy offense, yet it took someone as special as Smith to rewrite the OSU record book, bumping the legendary Carter down to second.
With Smith as the biggest weapon, Ohio State won its first national championship of the Ryan Day era, becoming the first school to win the 12-team College Football Playoff and navigating the most difficult postseason schedule in college football history.
All of this begs the question: what comes next for Smith?
The Hurdles
Every team is different from year to year, and Ohio State is losing a lot of players from the 2024 national championship roster. Most importantly for Smith, that includes the loss of starting quarterback Will Howard, both star running backs — TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins — key offensive linemen, and veteran receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Howard’s departure is probably the most direct action that will affect Smith. It will be difficult to reproduce Smith’s freshman totals with a first-year starter. Julian Sayin is the favorite to take over for Howard, but it’s premature to assume he’s got the job. His biggest competition will likely come from Lincoln Kienholz and talented newcomer Tavien St. Clair.
Any of them will need to learn on the job. It’s helpful to have a go-to guy like Smith to make the transition easier, especially when you can rely on someone of his caliber to bail you out whenever in doubt. That’s where the loss of Egbuka, Henderson, Judkins and the departing linemen is felt.
Ohio State may not have quite as dependable a rushing game in 2025, meaning the offense could be put in more obvious passing downs during the upcoming season. Someone will need to fill Egbuka’s shoes. That will likely be Carnell Tate, but someone then must become the next Tate, because he was a solid No. 3 in 2024, amassing 52 receptions, 733 yards, and four touchdowns.
Tate will need to make a big leap to account for about an additional 30 catches, 300 yards, and six touchdowns to get to Egbuka’s level and take heat off of Smith. Brandon Inniss — or someone else — will have to make an even bigger leap to reach Tate’s 2024 level. All of this is to say Smith may be required to make more plays in 2025. He’s capable, but he may draw a lot more attention unless others can prove dangerous enough to draw some attention away.
Then there’s just the old proverbial sophomore slump. There’s no reason Smith can’t continue developing under Brian Hartline and raise his level, given his obvious talent. However, Ohio State fans have seen standout freshmen take backward steps before. Players with a season’s worth of film available can reveal potential weaknesses that opponents can work on exploiting. At that point, it’s up to the sophomore to make the next adjustment just to stay at the same level.
So, there are some roadblocks that Smith will deal with in 2025.
The Potential
Despite all of the above, Smith is simply a generational talent, and it will be difficult to opponents to stop him even with outstanding game plans. It’s tough to scheme around a guy who can make one-handed circus catches in the back of the end zone despite good coverage. Sometimes talent simply wins.
The number of commentators, coaches, and scouts who have already said Smith could play in the NFL right now is much greater than one. There’s a reason they’re saying it, and that reason is because it’s true. Smith could step into the NFL, start, and be a productive receiver tomorrow. That’s a product of his physical attributes — size, speed, and strength — as it is the intangibles, which include his work ethic, attitude towards constant improvement, and study of the game.
With all of that on his side, Smith could eclipse his 2024 numbers even with a first-year starter at quarterback, a reduced OSU running game, and a lack of a third receiver finding the level Tate reached last year. He’s simply got that much potential for growth.
However his 2025 season turns out, whenever Smith is on the field, he’ll be the one everyone watches — fans, opposing players and coaches, commentators, and NFL scouts.