The hype train analogy has been done to death when it comes to Jeremiah Smith. Let’s end that trend.
Smith’s Ohio State career took flight on Saturday with the aid of a leaping touchdown grab, which he followed up with another score during his six-catch, 92-yard day in the Buckeyes’ 52-6 win over Akron. Ryan Day used the simplest, most direct analogy to describe Smith in his postgame press conference.
“He's built different. He is,” Day said. “Just the way his approach is, you can see his size and speed and all that, but typically somebody with that type of talent doesn't have the discipline and focus that he does.”
A whole 60 minutes into his career at one of the toughest places in the nation for a freshman to play right away, it feels Smith has already established himself as a go-to target for quarterback Will Howard with his two-touchdown performance against Akron.
“Actually being out here on the field playing and getting the full experience of walking out of that tunnel was something I will never forget,” Smith said. “And me scoring that first touchdown felt so great.”
Smith’s first career start didn’t open how he or the Buckeyes wanted it to.
Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly dialed up a beautifully designed tunnel screen to Smith on Ohio State’s second offensive play, which left Smith plenty of green grass to run to with blockers in front. But he dropped what was his first career target.
Many freshmen would have been taken out. It’s a testament to Smith’s talent and the trust Day and the Buckeyes' staff have in him that he remained in the game.
“Nobody even batted an eye,” Day said. “Nobody said a word. It was just, ‘He’s gonna play through this and we’re gonna be fine.’ (Taking him out) wasn't even in consideration because we see what he does every day in practice and we knew he was gonna settle in.”
It paid immediate dividends on Ohio State’s following drive. It began with a key catch along the sideline to convert a 3rd-and-10, then Smith hauled in another quick 8-yard gain to pick up a first down on 3rd-and-4.
He capped that very drive with a gorgeous adjustment to win a 50/50 ball and collect his first career touchdown, the Buckeyes’ first of the season.
“If he's pressed and it's one-on-one, put it up, and he'll make the play,” Howard said. “That’s exactly what he did. It was press, so I tried to put it up overtop, and he actually made a little adjustment and came back to it. That's all I've got to do is give him a chance, and he's going to do the rest. You guys saw that today.”
Will Howard Jeremiah Smith@OhioStateFB scores its first TD of the season pic.twitter.com/50FjJX7nBZ
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) August 31, 2024
Another mistake followed the following drive, which saw Smith line up in the backfield to draw an illegal formation penalty that nullified a third-down conversion for Ohio State. Howard had his back though, converting the now 3rd-and-8 with a 16-yard scramble.
Three plays later, Howard hit Smith on a slant for a 9-yard score, the Florida native’s second of the day. With it, he became the first Ohio State freshman since Michael Wiley in 1996 to catch two touchdowns in a season-opener.
Count Howard among those impressed with Smith’s beyond-his-years mentality.
“There were no words said,” Howard said of Smith’s earlier drop on the tunnel screen. “None of us were worried about him at all. Obviously, it's a drop. It's uncharacteristic. But, hey, I made a couple of bad passes. It's not going to be perfect, but it's that next-play mentality. Mental toughness is the ability to move on to the next most important thing. And we knew his maturity level, we weren't worried about it.”
“He's built different. He is. Just the way his approach is, you can see his size and speed and all that, but typically somebody with that type of talent doesn't have the discipline and focus that he does.”– Ryan Day on Jeremiah Smith
The next-play mentality is an easy one to embrace for Smith. It probably helps when you have generational talent out wide.
“Just move on,” Smith said. “It's football. You got more football to play. You got four quarters of football, so just move on, keep my head down, keep working. That's all.”
Smith saved the best reception of his day for last. Running a slot fade up the seam of Akron’s secondary, he found space behind the Zips' coverage and a target off the arm of Will Howard.
Akron defensive back Daymond David recovered well, but that didn’t stop Smith from reaching out with one hand as he fell to the Ohio Stadium turf to pull in a 45-yard grab. He noted it as his favorite catch of the game.
He caught that with one hand
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 31, 2024
Jeremiah Smith continues to add to his impressive @OhioStateFB debut.#B1GFootball on CBS pic.twitter.com/c0NShHyWEW
Despite his status as a first-year player, Smith paced Ohio State’s receiving corps with nine targets in total, showing an early rapport with Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard.
“Our chemistry is going very good right now,” Smith said. “Just something we build during practice, and going to continue to build on that. It's going to get even better for sure.”
Smith has always been aware of the hype surrounding him as the nation's No. 1 prospect in 2024 and a player who broke freshman records before even taking the field at Ohio State. But the only people he's focused on impressing are those in OSU's program with him.
“I don't really feel pressure,” Smith said. “I just want to go out there and play football and win games. I know all the hype around me was crazy coming in. I just wanted to come in and be a guy, just work and not be about all the hype. I just want to impress my coaches, impress my peers around me, my teammates.”
Now that his career is in flight, it’s easy to dream about the heights Smith can achieve as a Buckeye.
“I can build on it by not dropping the ball,” Smith said. “I feel like I can have a better game. I made mistakes. Just continue to work and get better each and every day.”
