Jeremiah Smith is the best player in college football entering the 2026 season. He is the best weapon on the outside in the country. He is very hard to cover, and the Buckeyes are going to try to get him the ball as much as possible in his final season with the program.
By the time his junior season is done, Smith will likely hold the records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He will accomplish all of that in just three seasons. One pundit believes that will make him perhaps the best player to ever play for the Ohio State football program.
Pundit believes Jeremiah Smith could be the best Ohio State football player ever
While talking on the Big Ten Network, Doug Lesmerises believes a strong season in 2026 could put him in the conversation as the best Buckeye football player ever.
"If you want to go to the far end of the Jeremiah Smith conversation, you're starting to talk about, depending on what the team does this year, what he does this year; if he's healthy, he's going to break every Ohio State receiving record in the book. You're talking about if he could leave as the best Ohio State football player of all-time. That's the kind of rare company that he is in."
When Smith was a freshman, he ended up being the best player on the entire team during the national championship run. That is usually the measure of an all-time great. If Smith stays healthy, he will end up holding all of the meaningful records from a receiver standpoint.
Even all-time Ohio State great Cris Carter has huge expectations for Smith. Smith might be the most purely talented player to ever step foot on campus. The physical skill that he has might be unmatched by any other player at any other position in school history.
There is one better Ohio State football player in history than Jeremiah Smith
There is still going to be at least one better player than Smith in Ohio State history. Archie Griffin remains the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in the history of college football. That gives him the trump card over every other Buckeye who has played.
If Smith does win the Heisman this year, as Joel Klatt predicts, he will then have a much closer argument. Griffin never won a national championship, either. If Smith wins his second one in three years, that could give him the edge over Griffin, although it's close.
None of it matters if Smith doesn't help the Buckeyes win another national title or if he doesn't stay healthy. Smith did miss some games last year because of a leg injury. Keeping him ready to go for the entire season will be key in a season that has a brutal schedule.
Smith is by far the most important recruit of the Ryan Day era. He could be on pace for a 1500-yard and 15-touchdown season if things go well.
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