A great off-season for Ohio State is almost over. The Buckeyes have had a few training sessions after making some big changes in the Transfer portal and is looking for players to expand his squad with several key returnees.
However, one of these newcomers stands out from the crowd. During the Big Ten Media Days Ryan Day said he didn’t even want to talk about the hype until he was on the field for the first time.
Jeremiah Smith attracted many glances at the Spring Ball and will certainly be an eye-catcher at Chip Kelly’s attack this year. He joins a wide receiver room that still includes Emeka Egbuka, Brandon Inniss And Carnell Tatebut could make an immediate impression as a newcomer.
Despite all the hype Devin Brown said Smith was taking it easy. His focus was not on the noise from outside. He was playing football.
“He handles it like a pro every day,” Brown said of Smith. “There’s really nothing that can faze him. He’s just calm and doesn’t think about anything else. He just loves playing ball.”
Smith was the crown jewel of Ohio State’s recruiting class this year, and Day literally Breathed a sigh of relief on National Signing Day when he signed his NLI. Five Stars Plus+ Recruit, Smith was the No. 1 player of the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankinga weighted average using all four major recruiting media companies.
The Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Florida) The product was a hot topic of discussion during Big Ten Media Days late last month. While Day wanted to wait until Smith took the field to talk about the expectations for him, Jack Sawyer has taken a different path.
Sawyer recalled his first encounter with Smith in training. His reaction summarized the way everyone talks about the highly touted newcomer.
“I’ve been in his shoes, so as a five-star recruit and when he came in there was a lot of hype around him, so I was like, man, I just want to see him practice a couple times,” Sawyer said during a breakout session with reporters. “I don’t want him to feel like if he doesn’t play this year or if he doesn’t live up to the hype his first year, then you know.
“But then I saw him for the first time at the first practice. I just thought: Holy shit, this kid is good.”
Jeremiah Smith is also building his brand at the beginning of his career at Ohio State. He and Caleb Downs played in a commercial for American Eagle by a ZERO dealing with the company, facilitated by The basisHe currently has a On3 NIL Rating of $752,000, which ranks fourth on the Buckeyes’ list.
Then, on Wednesday, Smith became the first freshman in Buckeyes history to score a “Iron Horse Chestnut” Honor. It’s safe to say that the noise surrounding the star freshman will continue to grow. He will have his first chance to show it on the field when Ohio State faces Akron 31.August.
