Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith named to Maxwell Award watch list

COLUMBUS — Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith continues to have his name on preseason watch lists and honors previews.

The latest comes courtesy of the Maxwell Award, which is given to the best player in college football at the end of each season. Smith is the lone Buckeyes star on the watch list for the Maxwell Award, which put out its preseason list of 80 on Monday afternoon.

A total of 13 Big Ten players are on the watch list, led by three from Penn State, two from Indiana and Washington and then individual players from other teams. Smith is one of 18 sophomores to be named to the Maxwell Award preseason watch list.

According to the release from the Maxwell Football Club, “The Maxwell Football Club has once again partnered with Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Phil Steele Publications as selection committee partners. PFF provides detailed metrics and performance-based assessments to selection committee staff, with several senior PFF analysts being members of our selection committee. Phil Steele’s College Football Preview is generally recognized as the most complete preseason magazine.”

Jeremiah Smith is the best wide receiver in college football, so his inclusion is certainly warranted. Defensive coordinators will have to scheme to stop Smith this fall after his 76-catch, 1,315-yard, 15-touchdown performance across 16 games last year.

Good luck to those defenses.

“You have to be creative about how you get on the ball, but he also is going to make everybody better on that field, because he’s going to draw a lot of attention,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said last week at Big Ten Media Days. “So it’s going to be important for the quarterback to recognize that and then use the other weapons that he has. The run game will be very important. But also, you know, you’re talking about Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss and Bryson Rogers. Our tight ends are in a good place right now. Our running backs can hurt you out of the backfield. You saw what TreVeyon and Quinshon did last year.

“So it’s a weapon for us, because people are going to always break the huddle and want to know where he is. So it opens up the rest of the field for us, which is great.”

Ohio State has other playmakers that could have been selected for the Maxwell Award watch list. But Smith is the lone member of the roster to be on that watch list.

Semifinalists for the Maxwell Award will be announced Nov. 11. The three finalists for the award will be unveiled Nov. 25, with the winner being announced on Dec. 11.