Arthur Smith won't need to learn the art of recruiting in his first offensive coordinator job at the collegiate level with the Ohio State Buckeyes this coming season.
As Land-Grant Holy Land's Cole Van Wiechen notes, Smith's lack of recruiting responsibilities in his new job in Columbus means there's still a spot on Ryan Day's coaching staff that needs to be filled sometime soon.
"Smith was not hired into one of the 10 on the road recruiting roles permitted by the NCAA. That decision, intentional and uncommon for a coordinator hire of his stature, leaves Ohio State with one open full-time coaching slot still to fill, and significant flexibility in how it chooses to do so," Van Wiechen prefaced before saying, "The significance of that vacancy cannot be overstated. In modern college football, the 10 on the road recruiters can be as valuable as any schematic mind on staff."
"Ohio State’s choice to keep Smith off the recruiting trail suggests a clear prioritization of his NFL-caliber offensive acumen while preserving an additional role for a coach whose primary value could be recruiting, development, or a specialized unit. In other words, the Buckeyes did not accidentally leave a chair empty. They created one."
Arthur Smith won't be used for NIL purposes as previously speculated on
Ohio State Buckeyes On SI's Nick Pedone suggested this past week that Smith's father's fortunes, made through FedEx, the company Frederick Smith founded, could come into play for Ohio State's NIL spending.
"While it’s wildly unfair to suggest that the Buckeyes hired Smith because of his late father’s wealth, it certainly will not hurt Ohio State to have that close of connections with one of the richest men in the country's history," Pedone wrote.
"Ohio State has a robust NIL program already. It’s partly how the team has been able to stockpile talent like Smith and Sayin. But this is an ecosystem that isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s continuing to expand with college football player salaries increasing rapidly."
Smith is clearly going to be in a purely X's and O's role. If Bo Jackson and the Buckeyes running back room doesn't see a major uptick in attempts and production, it'll be clear that this is purely a rehab stint for Smith to attach his name to a winner and become hirable for head coaching jobs or OC jobs in the NFL.
Knowing Smith doesn't have the responsibilities most OCs have puts his play-calling under a major microscope. We'll see how the soon-to-be-44-year-old responds in his first season in the Big Ten.