Jeremiah Smith sends a message about his play in 2025: 'It's gonna be scary this year'

Jeremiah Smith was one of the best players in all of college football last season. The Ohio State star wide receiver believes he’s only scratching the surface of his potential.

That’s a wild proposition, as Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during the Buckeyes’ national championship run. However, he believes that he’s playing at full speed in 2025 after hesitating a bit in 2024, and his numbers could balloon even higher this season.

“Jeremiah Smith said there were games last season in which he ‘hesitated’ and didn’t always play as fast as he’s capable of playing,” Chase Brown of Eleven Warriors posted on X. “Entering 2025, he has complete confidence in himself and wants to show what he can do at full speed. ‘It’s gonna be scary this year,’ he said.

If Smith feels like he can outdo 2024, the rest of the college football world better watch out. He dazzled in every way possible, but there was one major blemish on his team’s season as a whole — Ohio State once again falling to Michigan.

Smith caught a touchdown in that game, part of a five-catch, 35-yard performance. That was far below the standard he’s set for himself, though, and the one he’ll be trying to reach in his sophomore season. 

After all the success he’s enjoyed thus far in Columbus, the loss to Michigan still sticks in his craw. Ahead of the 2025 season, Smith spoke with Manny Navarro of The Athletic, where he vowed to never lose to the Wolverines again, as long as the wide receiver is suiting up for the Buckeyes.

“I’m not a sore loser, but I hate losing, and losing to that team up north was pretty crazy,” Smith said, via The Athletic. “In the end, I think it really helped us play the way we did in the playoffs. But I didn’t want to go to Ohio State and lose to that team up north. 

“I just hate them. Just something about them. For the next two years, I promise you, I will not lose to them. I can’t lose to them in the next two years.”

As you can see, a national title doesn’t heal all wounds, not when the hatred is so strong between Ohio State and Michigan. Smith isn’t afraid of the challenge, and he’ll be looking to take his game to the next level in 2025, and that includes beating the Wolverines. 

If there’s a next level for Jeremiah Smith to reach, it’ll be hard to beat the Buckeyes in 2025. Even if Michigan has some impressive juju when it comes to playing Ohio State over the last couple of seasons.