Two of Ohio State’s biggest receiver stars were in the same frame earlier in the week, and the picture says plenty about what the Buckeyes have built at the position over the last decade.
Ohio State has turned itself into Wide Receiver University, pumping out pass-catchers who look different in college and then somehow level up again in the NFL. The run stretches from Mike Tomas all the way through Carnell Tate, and the latest snapshot brought together the present and the future: the 2025 NFL Offensive Player of the Year, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and rising superstar Jeremiah Smith.
Smith-Njigba’s Buckeye career was a strange and fascinating one because he really only got one full season as the guy in Columbus. He arrived just before the true NIL era, and his sophomore year was the one that left everyone shaking their head.
He caught 95 passes for 1,606 yards and nine touchdowns, and he averaged more than 123 yards per game. The performance most people still associate with JSN came in the Rose Bowl against Utah, when he ripped off 15 catches for 347 yards and three touchdowns.
Then came Week One of 2022 against Notre Dame, when an injury changed everything. He was working back from the hamstring issue, and he also couldn’t afford to put his NFL chance at risk. By the time his final season was over, he had only five catches for 43 yards.
None of that stopped the Seahawks from taking him 20th overall in the first round, and it turned out to be the right call.
Jeremiah Smith, meanwhile, is operating on a different level entirely. At 20 years old, he already has the kind of maturity, intelligence and build that make him look like he was assembled in a lab, and he’s the best athlete on the field every time he steps out there.
His production has matched the hype. He’s put together back-to-back seasons with more than 76 catches and over 1,200 receiving yards, and he’s added at least 12 touchdowns in each year. If he has just three or four ordinary weeks, he’s going to wipe out receiving records in only three seasons.
Put Smith-Njigba and Jeremiah Smith together and you’d have an absurd tandem. Even apart, they’re both special players, and Ohio State fans have had the privilege of watching both up close.
In Other News...
Former Ohio State Quarterback Just Took An Awkward NIL Turn
Julian Sayin is expected to open the season as Ohio States starting quarterback, which leaves the Buckeyes looking ahead with a clear picture at the top of the depth chart. For Lincoln Kienholz, the path has already led elsewhere, after the former Ohio State backup moved on to Louisville in search of a chance to run his own offense.
The next step for Kienholz is still unsettled, though, because Louisville has not handed him the job yet and fall camp will decide how that quarterback room sorts itself out. It is a familiar kind of transfer gamble for a player who wanted a bigger opportunity, and now he has to turn that move into the starting role he came to chase. [Read more 🡒]
Buckeyes Fans Wont Like Where This Rivalry Money Idea Could Lead
College footballs financial arms race keeps pushing administrators toward ideas that would have sounded far-fetched not long ago, and Josh Pate floated one of the more aggressive ones during a podcast segment about why he should be commissioner. His pitch centered on using private equity to help offset the costs tied to neutral-site games and the broader money pressures around the sport, with Georgia Tech and Georgia offered as the kind of matchup where the concept could come into play.
For Ohio State fans, the unsettling part is less the theory than the direction it points. A system built to squeeze more value out of rivalry games and showcase matchups could end up rewarding the very kind of setup Buckeyes supporters have long bristled at, especially if more schools decide the financial upside is worth the tradeoff. The idea is still speculative, but it is the sort of proposal that makes traditionalists wonder how much of college footballs old order is left to protect. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Faces A Defining Decision In Tennessee Recruiting Battle
The race for David Gabriel Georges has become more than a simple head-to-head recruiting fight. Ohio State is trying to weigh the cost of adding another elite running back against a roster that already includes Legend Bey and Bo Jackson, while Tennessee appears positioned to be more aggressive if the bidding gets uncomfortable. It is the kind of decision that can shape not just one class, but how a program manages its entire roster-building approach.
Ohio State has been here before in a different form, navigating a similar pay-structure conversation with Jeremiah Smith in 2024 and still coming out ahead. Georges remains a different case, though, because the Buckeyes have to decide how far they are willing to go without upsetting their own internal balance. The real question now is whether the staff sees him as a player worth stretching for, or one where the line is set and the Volunteers are ready to test it. [Read more 🡒]