Devin Smith sat at home last week and did what many college students do — had a conversation with a roommate.
The length of the talk is unknown, but the overall theme was simple: Smith and his roommate, Doran Grant, spoke about their careers at Ohio State. From where they started to where they are now.
"We talked (Wednesday night) actually, about how rough it’s been and how far we’ve come," Smith recalled of the conversation. "It shows that we stay with working hard and we got to this point now. We believe in hard work and it got us to where we are now."
Smith and Grant were two members of Jim Tressel's final recruiting class for the Buckeyes. But like the rest of that 2011 group, they never played a game for the head coach who recruited them after Tressel resigned amid NCAA sanctions lingering from the famed Tatgate Scandal.
As a true freshman during that 2011 season, Smith played in all 13 games for the Buckeyes. He had 14 catches for 294 yards and four touchdowns, but Ohio State suffered its first losing season since 1988 under interim coach Luke Fickell.
It was a pretty dark time for the program and certainly not what Smith envisioned when he committed to play for the Buckeyes.
But then came Urban Meyer.
Since Meyer took over the program prior to the 2012 season, Smith has lost just three games at Ohio State after losing seven as a freshman. The success of both he and the team, Smith says, has been a direct result of the culture Meyer and his coaching staff have instilled in the program.
"You got some guys you didn't think would be who they are now," Smith said. "Guys like Mike Bennett, we all know how good he was. Having a coaching staff like Coach Meyer’s staff came in and really brought the dog out of them."
It seems to have worked with Smith, too.
A wide receiver with blazing speed, Smith came to Ohio State with the reputation of a burner who could be a big weapon in the vertical passing game, but not much else. That proved true over his first couple years in Columbus.
He still strikes fear in opposing defenses with his ability to beat them deep now as a senior, but he has also evolved into so much more than than just a deep threat throughout his career.
His career numbers: 118 catches for 2,371 yards and 29 touchdowns.
"We’ve done this for a long time, (and) I want to say he's one of the best deep ball players we’ve ever had," Meyer said of Smith.
The list of players in Ohio State history with more career touchdown catches than Smith includes one name: David Boston.
Smith has more touchdown catches than Cris Carter. More than Joey Galloway. More than Ted Ginn Jr and Santonio Holmes. He also ranks fifth on the all-time receiving yards list at Ohio State and the Buckeyes have never lost a game in which Smith has caught a touchdown pass.
"I haven't thought too much of it. I sat back and thought a little bit," Smith said. "I’m just blessed to be in this position. To be sitting second, I mean I passed a Hall of Famer. It’s unbelievable. But all that I’ve done wouldn't be possible if I didn’t have the teammates I have."
In the Buckeyes' 59-0 pasting of Wisconsin for the Big Ten title, Smith was huge in the passing game. He caught four passes for 137 yards and three touchdowns as Ohio State earned a spot in the first-ever College Football Playoff the very next day.
"It just shows the hard work that we put in," Smith said. "We set a goal at the beginning of the year and that was to get as far as we can and get back to the Big Ten, and here we are in the playoffs."
When Smith thinks back to his freshman season, it probably seems like a longshot he would be in this position. But even with all of his success, he knows how far he has come in just four years.
"It was rough. It was up and down," Smith said. "I feel like the class of 2011, we’ve been through a lot. The guys I came in with, being the last class for Coach Tress, and losing in the Big Ten and just everything that’s happened. To be able to be in this position now for my last year it’s a blessing and we’re going to take full advantage of it."
