Closer Look: Jeremiah Smith Will Help Buckeyes Immediately

As a senior last year at Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Florida, Jeremiah “JJ” Smith helped lead his team to a state title by catching 88 passes for 1,376 and 19 touchdowns. He posted 16 catches for 316 yards and three touchdowns in a win over New Jersey power Bergen Catholic. His final two years of high school produced 151 receptions for 2,474 yards and 39 touchdowns in 28 games.

Smith was the No. 1 overall recruit in the 247Sports Composite. He won the high school Maxwell Award as the national player of the year. Smith signed with Ohio State over offers from every major college football program that thought they’d have a shot.

What To Like

It’s fitting that today is the day that a new college football video game drops because when describing Ohio State freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith, you’re not far off from describing a “create-a-player.” He’s the prototype. Smith is listed at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds but he’s not a lumberer. He was also an accomplished track athlete in high school.

It would be quicker to list the things not to like about Smith. And the top of that list may be that he only has four years of eligibility. In the clips below — all junior highlights, Smith shows his domination in the red zone. He’s bigger than every defender he faces, but he’s also more athletic and plays with the kind of ball awareness that is rare for any receiver.

A quarterback may need to throw a 20/80 ball for it to actually be 50/50. That statement is only sometimes hyperbolic.

Jeremiah Smith is a complete receiver but is especially dangerous in the red zone. pic.twitter.com/62ut3XyK7B
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 19, 2024

Of course, the haters will see all of these various catches and scoff because they want to know what really matters — is the guy a willing blocker?

Well…

But the one thing you're wondering about most is whether or not Jeremiah Smith can block. #B1G pic.twitter.com/VWJvRRolyu
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 19, 2024

The Potential

Jeremiah Smith does not need to be pigeon-holed. He has the size of your prototype X receiver — a chain mover like Michael Thomas who is dynamic on the sidelines and getting open against physical coverage. He’s also got the speed and after-the-catch ability of a smaller Z receiver. He’s not unlike former Buckeye Marvin Harrison, Jr. in that regard. He can “play smaller” than he is but never shrinks from a play.

Smith has the speed to put fear into a defensive back, but also the route running to make everything look like something else. And even when a cornerback sticks with him, his ball skills and strength take over and he makes catches anyway.

Basically, any time the ball is in the air something truly special can happen.

As he showed in the spring, Jeremiah Smith is a downfield threat. pic.twitter.com/vTaGnT9Tub
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 19, 2024

The Expectations

No receiver has ever come to Ohio State with the kind of expectations that Jeremiah Smith is carrying around, and no receiver has ever come to Ohio State and looked as good as early as Smith has done. The hype around Smith has only grown because of how well he played in the spring. He lost his black stripe faster than any other Buckeye since the tradition started in 2012. Ohio State’s social media team had to work overtime some days to get his catches put out to the masses.

The expectations now have Smith as a likely starter this year as a true freshman, or at the very least in the heavy rotation. He was treated as a starter in the spring game as head coach Ryan Day didn’t want him playing too long and risking injury. The scope of these expectations right now are completely unfair for any true freshman, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong — and his expectations are higher than ours.

Then comes year two and year three where he’ll be even better and continue to grow into the kind of leader he is already hinting at with the maturity he has shown as a true freshman.

It was a pretty good spring for Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. pic.twitter.com/1njqhpu0yb
— Tony Gerdeman (@TonyGerdeman) July 19, 2024

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that the entire field is the red zone for Jeremiah Smith. He can take a screen the distance or simply run past his coverage. He can be a chain mover and a security blanket as well. The Buckeye quarterbacks learned all of this very quickly in the winter and spring.

Despite all of the hype and excitement, it is still important to keep in mind that Smith is just a true freshman and he is just a human. But there will be plays this season where you question both of those assertions.