Future Tense

He's a generational talent, an absolute specimen, the top-rated recruit in the country among all incoming freshmen and - this is your shocked face - Brian Hartline landed his alma mater yet another pass-catching alien.

This is The Usual. We love it, but it's not exactly surprising.

And yet this guy might be different. Yes, current Ohio State wide receiver recruits seem to be built that way, but Smith could be different different. First is that he looks nothing like a freshman.

Second, the generally accepted pleasantries of tamping down on enthusiasm over a player whose next college snap will be his first were deposited directly into the garbage as soon as players on the team watched him perform:

Holy shit, that kid's good.

That's future Thorpe Award finalist Denzel Burke talking about a freshman after three years of chasing Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba around in practice. A holy shit observation about an incoming freshman in this context? Holy shit, guys.

Fourth, he's already made several absurd catches with cameras rolling. Every box is getting checked including some boxes we weren't sure existed (circus catches against seasoned defensive backs prior to his senior prom taking place, yeah never seen anything like that before).

Fifth, Harrison Jr. now plays for the Arizona Cardinals. While Ohio State was able to secure nearly all of its draftable players, MHJ was not one of them. Here is the production the Buckeyes will need to replace in his absence:

Oh right, Harrison won the Biletnikoff (after posting nearly identical numbers as a sophomore with an NFL QB throwing at him as he did his junior year with Syracuse's quarterback throwing near him).

It's a big hole to fill, and true freshman Mr. holy shit, this kid's good showing up is serendipitous timing. I think he’s salivating at the opportunity.

Let's assume for one moment that this year's quarterback or QB-by-committee will be at least as serviceable as Syracuse's quarterback was last season. No drop-off. We'll call that a conservative assumption.

Sixth - six is a good stopping point - Smith's introduction to college football has been practicing against the best secondary in the country. Everything he faces on Saturdays will carry a lower degree of difficulty.

Can he replace MHJ's production by himself, or *Moneyball voice* does Ohio State simply need to replace it in the aggregate using multiple players? Does Ohio State even need to be a prolific passing team with Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Hendreson sharing a backfield?

These are very sexy and important questions. Let's take a shot at a fun answer: Smith will merely flirt with that production this season while winning the Thompson-Randle-El B1G Freshman of the Year award as he plays a pivotal role not seen by a non-QB true freshman contributor since Maurice Clarett 22 years ago.

JEREMIAH Smith's introduction to college football has been practicing against the best secondary in the country. Everything he faces on Saturdays will carry a lower degree of difficulty.

That's a scorching take, but he appears to be both good enough and unbothered by new surroundings. The conference's top freshmen from Ohio State all have something in common, aside from uncommon ability - they were needed to fill big holes as well.

Carlos Snow and Scottie Graham combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards in 1989 over 11 games. The following season, Robert Smith went over 1,000 yards in his first few months on campus, gliding and striding to over a yard beyond their average per carry. He won the honors that year in large part because of the gaping hole Ohio State needed him to fill.

Korey Stringer, Orlando Pace and Andy Katzenmoyer took the award in 1992, 1994 and 1996 respectively. Ohio State's offensive line took too long to move out of the liability column after John Cooper took over, while Katzenmoyer stepped into the middle of a defense that fell apart when he was in high school and was a significant part of an immediate upgrade.

Filling big holes doesn't always mean filling big shoes. There have been lean times and some positions - everyone old enough to be reading this remembers the gaping OSU defenses from 2020-2022.

Clarett was next, and it's generally accepted the 2002 Buckeyes don't go 14-0 without his ability, moxie and distinctive veteran attitude as a true freshman who garnered buzz and disbelief from the moment he showed up in Columbus. Smith is turning heads like he did. It’s a strong indicator of what’s to come.

It might best analog for what he is getting himself into his freshman season, and I wrote about it last week while suggesting Freshman Clarett was merely Senior Wells on an accelerated timeline:

Just hang on for a few more weeks - we should find out quickly how pleasant or rancid this take is by October. Jeremiah Smith is Marvin Harrison Jr. on an accelerated timeline can serve as football erotica until we discover together how true it is.

After Clarett, four of Ohio State's next five B1G Freshmen of the Year were quarterbacks - Terrelle Pryor (2008), Braxton Miller (2011), J.T. Barrett (2014) and C.J. Stroud (2021). Pryor joined a two-time defending national title runner up, Miller had to fill Pryor's shoes, Barrett had to fill Miller's shoes and Stroud took over for Justin Fields.

Ohio State freshmen being asked to fill big holes. It's a fairly prominent tradition.

The one non-quarterback over that stretch who won the award who didn't play quarterback was running back Mike Weber in 2016. Here's how his production matched up with the guy whose number the program needed to replace.

It's not as glaring as Clarett and Wells because Ohio State replaced Elliott with Weber, Curtis Samuel and Barrett in the aggregate. Still, Weber's freshman year had him solidly ahead of Elliott at the same point in their college careers, as Elliott largely played special teams with senior Carlos Hyde on the team in 2013. Which brings us back to Smith.

The top-ranked 2024 recruit in the country has every bit of the talent, demeanor and opportunity presented by what his team is now missing to become the first Ohio State wide receiver to take top honors among B1G freshmen.

A reminder - we're all currently living through the Ohio State Wide Receiver Era. Firsts are hard to come by for that unit. Somehow, this is one thing for that room which is not The Usual.

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Hartline's unit has already claimed the position's highest award, several All America honors and numerous 1st Round grades since his arrival following his own NFL career. Freshman of the Year is the last box to check. I'll bet on Smith for all the reasons you just read.

If he pulls it off, it should surprise nobody. We already know he's different different.