From the moment he committed to Ohio State, every Buckeye fan in the world was excited to see Jeremiah Smith in action last season. Now, the rest of the world is coming to the conclusion that OSU did years ago: Smith might be one of the best wide receivers of all time.
Earlier this week, college football analyst Joel Klatt had high praise for the rising sophomore wideout, calling him the "best college football player [Klatt's] ever seen."
Jeremiah Smith's freshman season notables
- 1,315 receiving yards (17.3 average)
- 15 receiving touchdowns
- 47 rushing yards
- 1 rushing touchdown
- 88 yards, 1 touchdown in National Championship
- Rose Bowl Offensive MVP
- First-team All-American
- Freshman All-American
- Big Ten Receiver of the Year
- Big Ten Freshman of the Year
- First-team All-Big Ten
To put it lightly, Smith pretty much did it all during his first season of collegiate football. If he had been eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft, he most likely would have been an early first-round pick.
"We can all say this together; the best player next season in college football is Jeremiah Smith," Klatt said. "Very rarely do we see a player that comes in with all the hype of Smith. Then, he doesn’t just live up to that; he exceeds all of the expectations. When I would talk to opposing coaches and I would bring up what their plan is with Smith, they would say, 'There’s not really a plan.'"
"For the first time in my career, there is a player that I believe could join that echelon."@joelklatt's No. 1 Player in College Football has the potential to sit among Randy Moss and Jerry Rice as one of the best of all time. pic.twitter.com/hKoG2yLNh5
— The Joel Klatt Show: A CFB Pod (@JoelKlattShow) July 28, 2025
Smith was former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard's go-to guy downfield, despite the Buckeyes also having four-year veteran receiver Emeka Egbuka as a big-time target.
This season, as Smith approaches his second year of college ball, he is faced with a new quarterback as his gun-slinger: sophomore QB Julian Sayin. With a relatively new offensive line and a green quarterback at the reins, Smith is going to have to step up to the plate as the star of the offense.
The good news? Ohio State head coach Ryan Day just said that Smith is "bigger, stronger, and faster" than he was last season.