Jeremiah Smith did the impossible last season.
He lived up to his billing.
Labeled a once-in-a-generation talent when he signed with Ohio State as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2024 recruiting class, Smith was indispensable to the Buckeyes’ run to the national championship.
He sparked Ohio State’s playoff run with a touchdown catch against Tennessee. His 56-yard catch on third-and-11 all but clinched OSU’s national title. Smith finished with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns.
What to do for an encore?
“I definitely can get better,” Smith said Tuesday after the 13th of Ohio State’s 15 spring practices. “I don’t feel I’m getting complacent. There’s always room for improvement.”
Smith has taken snaps as a slot receiver this spring. If he’s a mismatch for cornerbacks as a receiver on the outside, imagine what he would be on the inside.
“That’s a mismatch for sure, going against safeties and linebackers,” Smith said.
Because he played so much last year and the Buckeyes are trying to groom young receivers, Smith’s workload this spring has been limited. For a player who wants to be on the field for every snap, it has been an adjustment.
“The competitive nature in me wants to go out there and practice,” he said. “I’ve got to listen to my coaches. I always want to practice and compete, but sometimes I have to listen and take a break.”
Probably the biggest challenge Smith faces this year is off the field. He’s quiet by nature, but coaches want him to become more of a vocal leader. When offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline was asked who the vocal leaders of his position group were, he named Carnell Tate and Brandon Innis.
“Yeah, it is a challenge just stepping out of my comfort zone,” Smith said. “It’s something everybody wants to see from me – not just my coaches but players on the team as well. We had a leadership meeting and a lot of people called me out, saying they want me to talk more. I’m working on it. It takes time. I’m not really a guy that’s talkative.”
Tate said Johnson is making progress that way.
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“He’s definitely been talking more and more,” he said. “He’s getting more comfortable with it. Guys like him, when he talks, people listen and watch what he does.”
Smith might not need to be the center of attention, but he is. At Saturday’s student appreciation practice, he drew the biggest crowd for pictures and autographs.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it,” Smith said. “It’s a blessing for sure to see everybody come out. Everybody came up to me and asked for pictures and everything. I wish I could get everybody, but I can’t do it. It’s too much sometimes.”
As successful as his freshman season was, Smith is ready to close that chapter.
“I can’t get big-headed,” he said. “I always feel there’s room for improvement. I never feel like you’ve got it (made). That’s one thing a lot of people mess up on. They feel they had one good year and relax. That’s not in me. I’m going to continue to do it for years and years to come.
“We can’t live in the past. The 2024 team, they won the national championship. This year’s team (hasn’t). We just took everything down in the weight room so we can focus on being ourselves.”
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Ohio State football beat writer Bill Rabinowitz can be reached at brabinowitz@dispatch.com or on bluesky at billrabinowitz@bsky.social.
