It’d be hard for Jeremiah Smith not to hear how much everyone is talking about him entering his freshman season at Ohio State, but he doesn’t want to let the hype get to his head.
While Smith isn’t bothered by the attention, the No. 1 overall prospect from the 2024 recruiting class knows he can’t let the high expectations distract him from continuing to work as hard as he has to get to this point.
“It's a blessing, but you don't want that hype to affect you and all this other stuff that's going around me,” Smith said Friday during his first formal interview session as a Buckeye. “I just keep my head down, just find ways to get better each and every day.”
Smith said it hasn’t been hard for him to block out the noise.
“It's very easy,” Smith said. “I mean, I just don't get on social media that much. Just don't look at Twitter and all that other stuff. So yeah, it's easy for me.”
Considered to be one of the best wide receiver prospects ever coming out of high school, Smith has continued to receive nothing but praise since he arrived at Ohio State in January. Players and coaches alike have consistently raved about Smith’s talent and work ethic, and he made history earlier this week by becoming the first freshman to earn Iron Buckeye honors since Mickey Marotti started that award for top offseason workout performers in 2012.
Such praise continued to flow on Friday when Ohio State receivers and cornerbacks met the media. Kojo Antwi described Smith as a “mini-Julio,” a reference to former NFL and Alabama star Julio Jones. Jermaine Mathews Jr. said Smith is “a different type of talent” unlike any wide receiver he’s ever seen before – and Mathews was on campus last year when Marvin Harrison Jr. was starring for the Buckeyes. Brian Hartline said Smith has “embodied everything that is a part of that conversation” when asked about Smith being named an Iron Buckeye, which honors players who show “unquestionable training, dedication, determination, discipline, toughness and leadership.”
Smith appreciates the praise, which he’s also received from former Ohio State stars like Marvin Harrison Jr., Cris Carter and Michael Thomas. And he was amazed that some Ohio State fans went out of their way to attend his games at Chaminade-Madonna High School last year.
“I was like, ‘Whoa,’” said Smith, who also said he never considered flipping when asked about the drama that surrounded his signing last December. “Like, no other school, just Ohio State fans came to my game. That was like, ‘Wow, that's crazy.’”
Asked about the drama of his signing with Ohio State in December, Jeremiah Smith said today that he wasnt flipping.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) August 9, 2024
I don't know why people made it seem like it was that. I was a Buckeye and that's it. pic.twitter.com/en2UyvOyUV
Smith knows many already expect him to be an all-time great at Ohio State. But he also knows he has to go prove that on the field once the games begin.
“I just gotta go out there on the field and just show you guys that I could be the next great Ohio State receiver to come through here,” Smith said. “So it's a blessing to have that, but I just got to go out there and play and show you guys.”
“I just keep my head down, just find ways to get better each and every day.”– Jeremiah Smith on blocking out the hype around him
That said, Smith says he’s focused on doing what he needs to do to help Ohio State win games rather than on putting up huge numbers.
“I know it's big expectations for me because No. 1 player in the country coming in and all the hype around me, so I just try to block out all that stuff and just focus on the main thing, just the team and our receiver room and the locker room,” Smith said. “The first game comes and if I don't exceed the expectations that y'all have for me, I don't really care. I just want to go out there and win the game.”
Smith is known to be quiet and humble by nature, and his interview session Friday verified that. Smith acknowledged, however, that his attitude changes when he steps on the football field.
“When I see a 50/50 ball, I got to make the play,” Smith said. “It don't matter how the ball is, if it's a bad ball, I just feel like I got to make that play.”
