Scarlet Sunrise: Jeremiah Smith 'never wavered' in his commitment to Ohio State
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Jeremiah Smith ‘never wavered’ in his commitment to Ohio State
There were two hats on early signing day: one for Ohio State, one for Miami. There was a delay between when he signed and when his paperwork was sent in.
The drama dominated headlines.
But the drama surrounding Jeremiah Smith wasn’t all that it was made out to be.
“I wanted to be a Buckeye since Day One when I committed, but the narrative was that I was flipping, but I just wanted to be a Buckeye,” he told On3 national recruiting analyst Sam Spiegelman this week in the lead-up to the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
Ohio State offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline confirmed the same story.
“He never wavered. His family never wavered,” Hartline said last week ahead of the Cotton Bowl. “He can say what he wants two minutes before the hat came out. But he always told me the same thing. His parents always told me the same thing.”
Hartline added: “His family’s loyal. They always did what they said. And I can’t thank them enough. And and I’ll tell you, I’m really excited for him. We’ll see him here in a couple weeks.”
Smith — the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class — is one of seven Buckeyes signees on the offensive side of the ball joining the program this month as an early enrollee.
Right now, though, he’s turning heads in All-American Bowl practice, already earning On3 MVP honors for Day One.
Of course, he’ll have to prove himself all over again once he gets to Ohio State. Smith’s laundry list of accomplishments — namely his 20-touchdown junior season, during which while leading Chaminade-Madonna won a Florida state title — have gotten him to this point.
But now he’ll have to work his way into first-year snaps, starting this winter.
“I got to see bro in person,” Ohio State cornerback Denzel Burke said with his usual confidence, when asked about Smith last week. “All that high school stuff is cool, but when you got an elite corner lined up across your face, let me see what you can do. I heard he’s a five star, he can move … but let’s line up, man. We’ll find out.”
Smith is one of two freshman wideouts entering Ohio State’s receiving corps this year. The other is fellow five star Mylan Graham, except Graham — the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 19 overall prospect in the 2024 class — isn’t coming until the summer.
Regardless of when you arrive, there’s one thing that carries the most weight for first-year Buckeyes players, according to junior wideout Emeka Egbuka.
“When you’re a freshman, not too much else matters besides doing your job correctly,” Egbuka explained last week, when asked about Smith. “And listening to coaching. You’re going to step into a position later down the road where they have more trust in you, and you’re going to be able to experiment and do more things.
“But when you first get on campus, show them that you know how to block right and run the correct assignment. Show them that you know the formations. Show them that you take lifting seriously, that you don’t show up late to meetings. If you’re an accountable young guy, and you just don’t mess it up, you’re gonna find a way on the field. And once you do that, your talent is gonna take you a long way.”
That was the case for Carnell Tate, who enrolled early last year and earned a great reputation for his sound work ethic — with that came playing time. Tate logged 292 offensive snaps this season, 37 more than Heisman Trophy finalist Marvin Harrison Jr. piled up when he was a true freshman in 2021.
Smith didn’t enjoy the stress that snowballed with his recruitment process. In his interview with Spiegelman this week, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound wideout emphasized how he’s just happy to be done with that part of the equation.
Smith’s also happy to be on his way to Ohio State soon, and he’s ready to compete for playing time.
“He’s a quiet kid,” Egbuka said. “But, you know, those are usually the good type, the locked-in type. So I’m excited to see what his career holds here at Ohio State.”
Catching up on Cotton Bowl content?
Ohio State flopped offensively in the Cotton Bowl, scoring 20 points or fewer for just the fifth time since Ryan Day joined the program in 2017 — but the third time this season.
There weren’t too many bright spots in a 14-3 defeat to Missouri, but the top-10 New Year’s Six showdown in AT&T Stadium did feature a strong performance by the Buckeyes’ defense.
Lettermen Row had full coverage of the disappointing conclusion to the 2023 season, which included the short-lived starting debut of Devin Brown and the first real meaningful snaps for fellow quarterback Lincoln Kienholz.
Get up to speed here…
Transfer tracker: Breaking down Buckeyes moves, philosophy in transfer portal
Having trouble keeping track of all of Ohio State’s transfer portal departures?
Lettermen Row has you covered.
The Buckeyes have seen 18 of their scholarship players hit the portal — including starting quarterback Kyle McCord, starting wide receiver Julian Fleming and key running back Chip Trayanum — and there could be more on the way after bowl season.
Follow along here to stay up to date.
Counting down
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 332 days
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