Ohio State football vs. Akron: Three key players to watch

2. Jeremiah Smith

The amount of hype surrounding Jeremiah Smith is ridiculous. He is the best recruit in the country and is one of those truly freaky freshmen. Ryan Day said he's going to be starting, so he's one of the three receivers out there. He'll be next to Carnell Tate and Emeka Egbuka.

Smith has the potential to go wild in this game. He is going to be a deep threat for this team all year long. He's already one of the fastest players on the team as a freshman. Against a team as bad as Akron, he could put up over 100 yards receiving in his first-ever game.

While Egbuka is the best receiver the Ohio State football team has now, that might not be the case by the end of the season. That's how good Smith is. His potential is the best of any recruit the Buckeyes have landed in the last decade. Simply put, he's really freaking good.

How quickly he's able to get some chemistry with Howard is going to be fascinating. With his speed, he's going to be able to get open a lot. Being the veteran that he is, Howard shouldn't have too many problems finding him when he does get open. He'll give that freshman the ball plenty of times throughout this game.

I expect Smith to get his first collegiate touchdown in this game. Fans are going to cheer extremely loudly when he does it. The final player to watch on Saturday afternoon is another new Buckeye, this time on the defensive side of the ball.