Just a few days ago, while everyone was celebrating a very merry Recruitmas 2016, Ohio State quietly slipped in some good news about a veteran player, when Urban Meyer went on 97.1 The Fan. Meyer let it be known that wide receiver Corey Smith was granted a medical redshirt after having his 2015 season end early with a broken leg.
With Mike Thomas, Braxton Miller, and Jalin Marshall headed off to play Sunday ball, Smith’s return is big news for quarterback J.T. Barrett, Offensive Coordinator Ed Warinner and the Buckeye offense. Toward the end of the 2014 season, Smith had developed into one of Ohio State’s best outside blockers and was finally over the case of the dropsies that plagued him early in that championship season.
The Akron Buchtel High School product played in just four games last season after sitting out the Virginia Tech opener — along with Marshall, Joey Bosa and Dontre Wilson — with a one-game suspension for violating team rules. When he came back, he caught just five passes over the next four contests for a total of 62 yards. Smith finished eighth on the team in receptions in 2015 and eighth in yards. He did not score.
Smith’s career began a bit slowly at Ohio State after arriving from East Mississippi Community College in Scooba, Miss., where he impressed enough to become Ohio State’s first junior college transfer since linebacker Larry Grant in 2006. The No. 9 junior college prospect that season, as ranked by 247Sports (No. 3 wide receiver), Smith finished the 2012 season with 51 receptions for 733 yards and nine touchdowns.
The season before, he started his career Grand Rapids (Mich.) Community College, finishing with 28 receptions for 438 yards and two touchdowns in the 2011 season. His move to East Mississippi C.C. was necessary when Grand Rapids shuttered its program after Smith’s rookie year.
After arriving in Columbus, Smith redshirted during the 2013 season, while he acclimated to Meyer’s system and the Ohio State way of doing things. We heard good things about the speedy kid from Akron, but had to wait to see it on the field. In 2014, he got his opportunity.
Smith played in 14 games during the Buckeyes’ championship season, catching 20 passes for 255 yards, without scoring a touchdown. Early in the season he was targeted plenty but dropped more passes than he caught over the first half of the year. But he did manage to catch at least one pass in 11 of the 14 games in 2014. His four-catch, 44-yard effort against Maryland was his best outing of the season, but he also had three receptions for 28 yards in the win over Michigan.
His biggest catch of the year was a 47-yard effort against Oregon in the national championship game, but unfortunately it ended in a lost fumble at the Oregon 9-yard line. He finished the game with two receptions for 76 yards.
But one of Smith’s better attributes in 2014 was the way he developed as a blocker. Despite getting an ejection for targeting on one such block in the B1G championship game, Smith became the master at peeling back from his route to pick off chasing defenders on running plays and quick passes. Here's a look at his handiwork:
The subtleties of that skill weren’t fully picked up by Miller in 2015 — the former quarterback’s first year as a wide receiver — and it’s something the Buckeyes will need in 2016. Perimeter blocking is vital in any offense, but it's what makes Meyer's offense lethal by turning losses into gains and short gains into big ones. Just one such block with Ohio State's skill players can turn a nothing play into a touchdown.
Smith’s return in 2016 should have a major impact on Meyer’s offense for his blocking alone. But his impact should be felt beyond just his ability to run interference for his teammates.
Ohio State will be breaking in three new offensive linemen this fall and one of the returners, Pat Elflein, will move to a new position. The Buckeyes will have a new starting tight end, two new starters at wide receiver and a new starting tailback. The offense will need time to develop, and having someone who can block like Smith on the outside will only assist that development.
Smith will likely start on the outside in 2016, giving Barrett a speedy veteran receiver he can depend on. While the offensive line coalesces, Barrett can hit Smith on slants and hitches to get the ball out quickly in case protection is an issue. And if protection is good, Smith is the kind of player who can get behind the secondary and make explosion plays. He was the likely candidate to replace Devin Smith as the deep threat in 2015, but the suspension got his season off to a slow start and the injury completely derailed it.
A healthy Smith in the linup can only be a positive for Ohio State both in the running and passing game.
