OSU’s Jeremiah Smith to Start vs. Akron; WR Was No. 1 Overall Recruit in 2024 Class

Timothy Rapp@@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVAugust 27, 2024

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Ohio State head coach Ryan Day confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, a true freshman, would be one of the team’s starters in Saturday’s season-opening matchup against the Akron Zips.

Dan Hope @Dan_HopeAsked if he expects Jeremiah Smith to be on the field for the first snap on Saturday, Ryan Day gives a succinct response: “Yes.”

He says Brandon Inniss is “right there” with Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Smith and all four wide receivers will play.

Smith was the top overall recruit in the Class of 2024 and was described as “one of the top prospects to come out of South Florida in the modern recruiting era and the type of wide receiver that will give opposing defenses fits given the rare combination of his size, speed and hands” by 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins.

Returning senior Emeka Egbuka—who recorded 66 catches for 1,039 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022 before missing a number of games last season due to an ankle injury—will be expected to be the top option in the passing game.

But Smith, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss should all be given significant roles as well for yet another loaded Buckeyes’ receiver room.

Ohio State has long been something of a receiver pipeline for the NFL.

Marvin Harrison Jr. was a first-round pick this past year. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was a first-rounder in the 2023 draft. Both Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave were first-round selections in 2022. K. J. Hill was a seventh-rounder in 2020. Parris Campbell (second round) and Terry McLaurin (third round) went in the 2019 NFL draft. Curtis Samuel (second) and Noah Brown (seventh) were selected in 2017. Michael Thomas (second) and Braxton Miller (third) went in 2016. Devin Smith (Devin Smith) and Evan Spencer (sixth) came off the board in 2015.

And that’s just looking back at drafts over the past several years.

Whether Smith continues that long line of receiving talent remains to be seen, though he certainly has the upside to become the next superstar Buckeyes’ wideout. Earning a major role as a true freshman, at a school famous for its receiving prestige, is no small feat.

But Smith isn’t letting that get to his head.

“I know it’s a big expectation for me because I’m the No. 1 player in a country coming in and all the hype around me,” he told reporters earlier in August. “So, I mean, I just try to block out all that stuff and just focus on the main thing, just the team and our receiver room and the locker room. And when the first game comes, and if I don’t exceed the expectations that y’all have for me, I mean, I don’t really care. I just want to go out there and win the game.”