Is Jeremiah Smith Locked In With Recruiting Moves Abound?

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – There is going to be concern with Ohio State fans about wide receiver Jeremiah Smith until the moment that his fax arrives on campus on signing day. Those concerns were taken to another level on Monday when quarterback Dylan Raiola committed to Georgia, one of the schools pushing hard to flip the class of 2024 pledge.

But barring any sort of major change at Ohio State, those concerns are unfounded if you talk to the man himself.

“Ohio State, you all don’t have any concern right now,” Smith said after track practice on Monday. “I am locked in until anything happens with any of the coaches like coach (Brian) Hartline or coach (Ryan) Day, but I doubt that happens. I am pretty much locked in; I am not going anywhere.”

That has been the constant message but sometimes it feels good to hear it once again and alleviate those fears.

Ohio State has its own quarterback locked in with Air Noland and it is not as if the Buckeyes don’t have a track record of developing first round wideouts. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is the latest in the line and Marvin Harrison Jr. is up next in the Hartline Finishing School.

“I want to be a first-round pick, that is what I really want to do,” Smith said. “I feel that coach Hartline is going to do that for me.”

Of course, everyone would feel better if there were no other officials visits to be taken outside of Ohio State but short of that, Smith is saying all the right things about the Buckeyes.

“I want to go somewhere I can get developed and get coached hard,” Smith added. “Just get on the field and play with people who really care about me.”

It also doesn’t hurt that Smith’s position coach will also be the new offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes. Nobody is expecting to see a drop off in terms of offensive production. Smith is excited about what these changes could mean but also know that Hartline has a job to do and that means finding a balanced offense.

“I feel like he is going to do well. I know he is going to want to throw the ball a lot. But you still have got to feed the running backs,” Smith said. “He is going to want to throw that rock for sure.”

What else did Smith have to say? You are not going to know unless you click on this exclusive video taken from Chaminade-Madonna on Monday. It is all part of our Southern Swing; you don’t want to miss out as we have turned the corner into week two and make our way through Florida.