Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs is a consensus top-two player in the country, along with teammate Jeremiah Smith. For some reason, Ohio Bobcats football coach Brian Smith thought it'd be effective trash talk to group the two together as "two of the best receivers in the country."
The Columbus Dispatch's Dan Aulbach cleared up the confusion that statement might have caused anyone.
"Get ready for the newest Ohio State football wide receiver duo set to face off against Ohio University on Sep. 13: Jeremiah Smith and ... Caleb Downs?" Aulbach rhetorically asked.
"Not exactly. Downs, a unanimous all-American at safety in 2024, is not moving to the opposite line of scrimmage any time soon. But when asked about facing off against two of the best players in college football, Smith and Downs, Ohio coach Brian Smith incorrectly called Downs a part of a tandem wide receiver duo with Jeremiah Smith."
When you're a +30-plus betting underdog, you have to do weird things to get under your opponent's skin. Smith went the disrespect route, pretending not to know who Downs is. The repercussions of that decision have yet to be felt.
Smith, to his credit, isn't rolling over and conceding before the game like Grambling State Tigers football coach Mickey Joseph did last week before a 70-0 drubbing from the Buckeyes at the "Shoe."
“Our kids are extremely competitive,“ Smith said. “They're very confident. They obviously know that this is a big challenge, and we're playing a really strong program that has obviously earned that right to be one of the top programs in the country, and they're excited for the challenge.
“I think having confidence going into a situation like that is very important. It's important that your players and your staff believe in each other, trust each other, and believe and trust in their abilities as kids and as a staff.”
We'll see if Smith can manifest a competitive game against the No. 1 team in the country in territory that should be even more hostile now.