Jeremiah Smith has already won a national title and been a first-team All-American twice -- and he's still too young to enter the NFL Draft. The best player in college football isn't chasing a breakout. He's chasing history.
Buzz vs Tape
His own fans are far more bullish than the rival fanbase.
Ohio State Buckeyes energize fans with the reveal of five bold new football jerseys, setting the stage for a high-intensity offseason. Could this sartorial shakeup spark breakout performances from stars like Jeremiah Smith, Julian Sayin…
— Locked On Podcast Network
Also worth knowing:
Fan claims · every quote verified verbatim
Nah, not only does he love going to Ohio State, but he takes his future in the NFL seriously and nowhere gives him a better shot at being prepared for and being drafted extremely high like Ohio State. DGG chose the short-term NIL, Jeremiah is always thinking long-term.
Based on 1 comment from 1 poster across 1 thread · Jul 23, 2026 · via CFB
Most stars spend their college years arriving. Smith got there as a freshman -- a national championship in 2024, then back-to-back first-team All-American seasons, 1,243 yards and 12 scores in 2025 at six-foot-four with the speed to take any catch the distance. Scouts call him the cleanest receiver evaluation in years and float a number no wideout has reached in three decades: No. 1 overall. The last receiver taken first was Keyshawn Johnson in 1996.
Here's the twist that frames his whole 2026: he can't go yet. He won't be draft-eligible until 2027, so the best player in the sport is locked in for one more college season whether the NFL likes it or not. That turns the usual countdown on its head -- there's no will-he-leave drama, only the question of what a player who's already conquered the college game does for an encore.
The answer the Buckeyes need is a second ring. With Heisman-finalist Julian Sayin throwing to him, Ohio State enters 2026 a national-title favorite, and Smith is the reason defenses lose sleep. For most players the forward stake is a draft slot. For Smith it's legacy: another title, a shot at the most absurd individual season a receiver has ever had, and a year to make the No. 1 conversation unanimous.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2025)
Named to 11 first-team selectors
ALL-CONFERENCE · 1ST TEAM
All-Conf 1st team (2025)
All-Big Ten
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Day
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 4 · EliteUnanimous All-American. First-team on every major selector list.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · UNANIMOUS
Unanimous AA (2025)
Named to 11 first-team selectors
ALL-CONFERENCE · 1ST TEAM
All-Conf 1st team (2025)
All-Big Ten
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 87 | 1,243 | 14.3 | 12 | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 76 | 1,315 | 17.3 | 15 | -- |
| Career | 163 | 2,558 | 15.7 | 27 | -- |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ohio State | 3 | 21 | -- | -6 | -- |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 6 | 47 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 9 | 68 | -- | -6 | -- |
Signature game
SIGNATURE GAME · Week 5 · 2025
W 24–6
at Washington
8 rec · 81 yds · 1 TD
How he plays
Play style
Smith is what every coordinator sketches on a napkin and never finds: a 6-foot-4, 223-pound receiver who moves like a man eighty pounds lighter. The production backs it where the box can measure -- 85th-percentile catch rate, 83rd in touchdown rate, an efficient and reliable target -- and the scouting fills the rest: the cleanest receiver evaluation in years, a route runner with the long speed to house any of them. He wins three ways, at the line, at the catch point, and after it, so defenses don't have a leverage to take away; they pick which way they'd rather lose. In Ohio State's vertical attack he's the gravity the whole offense bends around. There's no flaw here to coach up. The only question the tape leaves is how a defense even schemes for him -- and two years running, it can't.
Our classifier reads him the same way: wins the 50-50 ball at the goal line.
2026 Outlook
Ohio State
2026 Depth chart
Returning starter
Wide receiver · Ohio State · editorial
Returning around him
2026 Award watch
Ohio State · Last season: 12-2 (AP #3) · Talent rank #3 · 2026 recruiting class #4
Perception vs tape
Most stars spend their college years arriving. Smith got there as a freshman -- a national championship in 2024, then back-to-back first-team All-American seasons, 1,243 yards and 12 scores in 2025 at six-foot-four with the speed to take any catch the distance.
Read the story →DNA match
Player DNA
Wins contested catches at the goal line. Size and catch radius are the weapons.
His 2025 production profile sits closest to Jeremiah Smith’s 2024 season.
Matches Jeremiah on
Differs from Jeremiah on
Through 2 college seasons, his career arc tracks closest to Erik Ezukanma’s path through Texas Tech.
Matches Erik on
As a sophomore, his production profile tracks closest to Romeo Doubs's sophomore season at Nevada (2021).
Matches Romeo on
Differs from Romeo on
Player DNA
Heisman trajectory
Heisman futures · sportsbook market
#8 in market ▼ from #6 · 4 books
Heisman Trajectory · 2025
Peaked at #55 this season.
Development
Development Trajectory · receiving yards
2024–2025Down 5% — context-dependent (injury / role change?).
Background
Career Highs 10 Receptions at Purdue (Nov. 8, 2025) 187 Receiving Yards vs. Oregon (Jan. 1, 2025) 2 Receiving Touchdowns (Six times – last vs. Penn State on Nov. 1, 2025) 87 Long Reception vs. Grambling (Sept. 6, 2025) 19 Rushing Yards at Michigan State (Sept. 28, 2024) Career Stats 2,558 receivi...