Oh, how quickly we forget. In Miami's season-opener, Malachi Toney was absolutely brilliant; we get it. He and Darian Mensah were sensational playing with one another, but just about everyone was quick to crown Toney the best receiver in the game, even claiming Jeremiah Smith doesn't hold a candle to him. I beg your pardon?
Yeah, as great as Toney is, the idea that he's going to run away with either the Heisman Trophy or the Biletnikoff Award is comical, seeing as it's early September. You've got a feeling Smith probably saw a ton of the Malachi hype, and he wanted to do his part to quiet things down a bit.
Mission accomplished. Early on in the battle with Ball State to open up the new campaign at The Shoe, Julian Sayin led the Buckeyes on a 99-yard drive, with things ending with a 48-yard touchdown strike to Smith. It was a contested catch, but 11 times out of 10, when you put Smith in a one-on-one battle with a defensive back, he's going to make him pay:
Sayin ↗️ Smith
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) September 5, 2026
No. 1 @OhioStateFB's Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith have already connected on their first TD of the season.
Watch on BTN pic.twitter.com/PFklzTtlLj
Jeremiah Smith is here to remind everyone Malachi Toney isn't in a league of his own
Sure, this is Ohio State vs. Ball State, but it doesn't take away from the fact that if you put Smith in a position to 'Moss' a cornerback, he's going to do it. Let's also not pretend like the Stanford secondary is something special or anything.
In total, Toney finished the Week 1 victory in Palo Alto with 12 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Hey, we're going to give him serious props, as it was a historic performance, and he deserves all of the flowers he's getting right now. Toney is without a doubt one of the best players in all of college football, and him being 18 years old makes things extra impressive.
No one is taking anything away from him. At the same time, just brushing Smith aside like he's some decent receiver is silly. An anonymous Big Ten coach tried claiming Smith is overrated, but sorry, no one should buy into that notion. He's a generational talent, and he should be a Top 5 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Once Toney is ready to make the jump to the pros too, he'll, of course, be in the Top 5 conversation. If anything, college football fans as a whole should appreciate the kind of magic these two are going to record on different fields. There's a friendly rivalry there, especially with both being Florida natives. The respect is there, but Smith is always going to be ready to go step for step with Toney, and anyone else who thinks they're in the overall WR1 talk.
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