Jeremiah Smith gives Ohio State WRs take that is almost too good to be true

Jeremiah Smith is never one to run from expectations.

The reigning Big Ten Wide Receiver and Freshman of the Year has high expectations for the Buckeyes wide receiver room, and he's not afraid to shout it. As a matter of fact, he thinks it's better than last year.

"I feel like this year they are going to shock a lot of people, especially Carnell [Tate]," Smith said. *I mean that guy there, he can do any and everything you ask him to...he can do it all. Brandon [Inniss] is the same way, he's got that dog in him. Our room is very special, I feel like it's better than last year because we all can do different things."

History will prove Smith correct

On the one hand, this isa bold take, especially when one of the departed is a first-round pick that's on track to be one of the top rookies in the NFL this season.

But think about it. Back in 2020, Ohio State had Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and more. It was a crazy assortment of talent. So good that Jameson Williams had to leave. And then they replaced him with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka in 2021!

​It's like a machine. An All-American/first-round pick exits and another one enters behind him. So yeah, last year's room was wild with Egbuka leading the way, Smith exceeding lofty expectations, Tate having a breakthrough season and Inniss was waiting in the wings.

If Smith is anything less than a first-team consensus All-American this year, it might be considered a disappointment, but I'll take that bet because he's a superstar. Tate is probably going to hit 1,000 yards as well and Inniss is the guy I'm really excited to see breakthrough this season. And who's going to be the young guy that steps up? Maybe it's Quincy Porter or Mylan Graham.

The bottom line is, we've come to expect this by now from the Buckeye wide receivers. They all have a desire to leave their mark on the program and then the next crop of pass catchers will come in try to do the same, but a little better. What Smith said wasn't a stretch, it wasn't a bunch of empty hype.

It's likely the truth.