Jeremiah Smith has been snubbed for another national freshman of the year award.
After Texas edge defender Colin Simmons won the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award over Smith, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers won the FWAA Offensive Freshman of the Year award over Smith on Wednesday.
Our National Freshman Players of the Year presented by Chris Doering Mortgage https://t.co/E3UqM8iPDi pic.twitter.com/q31bbOm1sD
— Football Writers Association of America (@TheFWAA) January 15, 2025
Smith, who was named a FWAA Freshman All-American, has already established himself as one of the faces of college football by catching 71 passes for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, shattering Ohio State’s freshman receiving records in all three categories.
The FWAA, however, opted to give the National Freshman of the Year award to Sellers, a redshirt freshman who had a strong first season as South Carolina’s starting quarterback, completing 196 of 299 passes for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions while also running for 674 yards and seven touchdowns.
While Smith missed out on the FWAA Offensive Freshman of the Year award, he did add a different accolade to his long list of them for his freshman season on Wednesday as he was named a first-team All-American by ESPN, joining Donovan Jackson and Caleb Downs on the first team. Jack Sawyer was also named a second-team All-American by ESPN.
Smith previously earned the Big Ten Receiver of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards and was the offensive player of the game at the Rose Bowl.
He’ll have a chance to earn more hardware on Monday as he looks to help lead Ohio State to a national championship when the Buckeyes face Notre Dame in this year’s College Football Playoff final. Smith will face off with the FWAA Defensive Freshman of the Year in that game as Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore earned that honor on Wednesday.
