There were big expectations for Jeremiah Smith coming into this season and while he has fallen behind on the pace he set in his freshman season, he is still the go to guy for the Buckeyes offense.
Against Washington on Saturday, Smith yet against led the team in receiving with eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown, which was five more catches than the next closest receiver on for Ohio State. It is clear quarterback Julian Sayin understands the formula for winning is getting Smith the ball on offense and Smith's other teammates would agree.
Fellow Ohio State wide receiver CJ Donaldson is happy tog ive Smith the praise he so clearly deserves, and even made sure to do it after the win against Washington.
"That alien gives us some juice, man," Donaldson said in his post-game press conference. "That guy is different."
Jeremiah Smith is just DIFFERENT 👽 pic.twitter.com/REUyTdhU1L
— Lettermen Row (@LettermenRow) September 28, 2025
Well it is hard to argue with what Donaldson is saying when it truly feels like what Smith is doing is something unlike what any other wide recevier at the college level has done. In his freshman season, Smith had over 1,300 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns averaging 17.3 yards per catch.
Now in his sophomore season, while the numbers are jumping off the stat sheet like last season, he has 396 receiving yards and four touchdowns, averaging 14.1 yards per catch. Some of the regression is from teams knowing how to guard Smith a little better now, having a whole season of film on him.
While Smith may not be leading college football in receiving, he is still making his presence very known on the Ohio State offense. Being called an alien shows that Smith's teammates know he is just built differently, which is a great thing, especially when Smith does what he does.
Ohio State will have to continue to use Smith, but some help from other receivers would be good for the Ohio State offense to become more than just one-dimensional, with Sayin to Smith all the time.