Freshman Tracker: Jeremiah Smith Reaches Another Milestone As Eleven Buckeye Freshmen Play in Ohio State’s Thrashing of Tennessee

Heading into Ohio State’s College Football Playoff game against Tennessee, the expectation was that most of Ohio State's freshmen would not see the field. However, the Buckeyes jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and raced to a 42-17 blowout victory, which enabled 11 true freshmen to see the field during the program's first December home game.

Jeremiah Smith put the Volunteers and college football world on notice with the very first ball thrown his way. The freshman phenom made a diving 37-yard touchdown catch to give Ohio State a 7-0 lead after 2:14 of play.

Jeremiah Smith is HIMpic.twitter.com/Jkbik1mkU1

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) December 22, 2024

Following the halftime break, the Buckeyes turned to Smith for the first score of the second half. This time, Will Howard connected with the record-breaking receiver for a 22-yard touchdown, putting Ohio State up 28-10.

With the two-touchdown performance, Smith became the third true freshman in program history to have multiple games with two touchdown receptions. The other Buckeyes on that list? David Boston and Cris Carter.   

JEREMIAH SMITH DOES IT AGAIN

HIS SECOND TOUCHDOWN IN HIS FIRST-EVER CFP GAME

What a dime from Will Howard pic.twitter.com/BjzndKxTut

— ESPN (@espn) December 22, 2024

During the game, Smith became the 10th Buckeye and the first freshman in school history to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards in a season. Over the next two years, Smith could join Marvin Harrison Jr. as the only Ohio State players with multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons. 

Smith finished with a game-high six receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. This was his fourth 100-yard receiving game, giving him ownership of 40% of Ohio State's 10 all-time 100-yard receiving performances by a true freshman. He could have finished with more yards and another touchdown had he not been mugged in the end zone during the play that led to Tennessee's only interception.

Was it even a contest between Smith and Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy? Smith has his opinion on the matter. 

Yea ight https://t.co/xpLlaWKMkX

— Jeremiah Smith (@Jermiah_Smith1) December 22, 2024

Stat Book Stuffers

James Peoples had his first carries since playing against Northwestern in Wrigley Field just over a month ago. He finished Saturday night with seven carries for six yards. Julian Sayin was the third quarterback on the field and had zero completions on one pass attempt in his first action since Week 9 against Purdue.

On the defensive side of the ball, Jaylen McClain led all freshmen with three tackles, Eddrick Houston notched his first tackle since the Purdue game and Bryce West recorded the first pass breakup of his career. West and McClain were also on the field goal block and punt block teams along with Payton Pierce. Aaron Scott Jr. was on the field goal block team and played 12 defensive snaps.  

Ian Moore, Mylan Graham and Max LeBlanc also played offensive snaps.

Six Ohio State freshmen used a year of eligibility by playing in more than four regular-season games this year: Houston, McClain, Peoples, Pierce, Scott and Smith. The rest of Ohio State’s freshmen all played in four games or fewer, preserving their four remaining seasons of eligibility. Under the NCAA’s redshirt rules, postseason games no longer count against a player’s redshirt eligibility, so all of Ohio State’s freshmen are eligible to play in the CFP without burning their redshirts.

(Note: The table does not include freshman walk-ons who have not yet played.)