Jeremiah Smith came into this season with the kind of expectations that usually live at the edge of reality: Heisman Trophy buzz, another College Football Playoff push, and the chance to keep stacking numbers for Ohio State. Instead, he’s spent the back half of the season trying to carry a broken rhythm around him.
Even with the Buckeyes wobbling, Smith has still carved out a place in the record book. He has already broken Ohio State’s four major career receiving records for receptions, touchdowns, yards and 100-yard receiving games.
That alone tells you how productive he’s been. It also makes the recent stretch feel even stranger.
The turning point came when Julian Sayin went down against Indiana and freshman Luke Fahey was forced into the starting job. Since then, Ohio State has dropped two straight, the offense has looked uneven, and Smith’s role has become a bigger talking point than it should be for a player this gifted.
The numbers back up the concern. Over the two games since Fahey became the starter, Smith’s receiving yards per game have fallen by roughly 23% from what he was producing through his first seven games.
The Oregon game was the clearest example of how disconnected things have become. Smith went more than 32 minutes of game time without a target, then still finished with seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. That’s the weird part: even when he’s barely being fed, he still produces like a star.
Ryan Day said the offense has struggled to find a rhythm and that plays drawn up for Smith haven’t always unfolded the way they were supposed to. That may explain some of it, but it doesn’t answer the bigger question hanging over Ohio State right now: how does one of the best receivers in college football go more than half a game without a pass thrown his way?
Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith added a little more detail on that point.
“There’s certain things where you try to make sure he gets the ball, and there might be something subtle that happens that causes it not to go there, whether it’s coverage, or there was a breakdown somewhere else,” Smith said.
There’s no question that building timing with a freshman quarterback matters. But that reality doesn’t erase the responsibility to get the ball to a player who can change a game every time it’s snapped.
The offensive issues have also complicated Smith’s Heisman case. He entered the year as a real contender, but Ohio State’s recent slide has made that path harder to navigate. He’s still in the conversation, yet his chances could take another hit if the Buckeyes keep struggling to unlock him over their final three regular-season games against Northwestern, Nebraska and Michigan.
Ohio State has tried to keep his candidacy alive with the “JJ 4 It All” campaign, pushing Smith for the Heisman Trophy, Fred Biletnikoff Award, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award. But the campaign only goes so far. He needs the touches to match the hype.
His frustration during the Oregon loss also set off plenty of online chatter about whether he was fully committed to finishing out the season. But his teammates say that idea misses the mark.
“He’s not giving up on the team,” Carson Hinzman said. “Everyone is saying, oh, man, he’s done, whatever, he shouldn’t come back and just care about himself. Man, he’s completely not like that at all.”
Hinzman also pointed to Smith’s leadership and the way he’s continued to hold teammates accountable while stressing the importance of finishing strong.
“Him talking about how much it means to him and how much these last three years have been to him is special, it’s important,” Hinzman said. “A lot of those guys in this position could easily be like, no, I’m good, you know what I mean?
I can take this out and I’ll still be a first round pick, probably number one pick overall. However, JJ is different.”
Smith has already shown exactly what he can do. The rest of Ohio State’s season is about whether the Buckeyes will actually let him do it.
In Other News...
Ohio State Suddenly Has A Receiver Problem Before Northwestern
With both teams heading into Saturday already short at quarterback, Ohio States offensive picture has gotten a little murkier than expected. The Buckeyes were already preparing for life without their starter under center, but the injury report also puts a spotlight on the receiver room, where Brandon Inniss, Phillip Bell and Brock Boyd are all listed as questionable. That is a notable wrinkle for an offense that may need to lean on its depth and simplify things a bit against Northwestern.
The concern does not stop there, either. Running back JaKobi Jackson and tight end Max LeBlanc remain sidelined, which takes away more of the supporting cast around the passing game and limits some of the flexibility in the game plan. Northwestern has its own long list of absences, including starting quarterback Aidan Chiles and cornerback Josh Fussell, but for Ohio State the bigger issue is whether it can line up enough healthy targets to keep the offense moving cleanly. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States Quarterback Future Suddenly Has Two Names To Watch
Julian Sayins season-ending injury changed the feel of Ohio States quarterback room in a hurry, and Luke Fahey has been the one asked to steady things since. The Buckeyes have dropped their last two games, which has only sharpened the conversation around what the position could look like beyond this stretch and how much help the staff may want to add if it decides the room needs another layer of depth.
Drake Lindsey at Minnesota and Marcus Stokes at Memphis have emerged as two names worth monitoring in that discussion, even if nothing is close to settled. Both quarterbacks bring production that makes them intriguing fits on paper, and both would give Ohio State another option to weigh as it looks ahead, but for now their transfer situations remain speculative and the Buckeyes are still in evaluation mode. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States 2027 Running Back Picture Just Got More Interesting
Ohio States 2027 running back board got a notable boost with the addition of Daylon Gordon, a four-star prospect from Wylie, Texas, who has now committed to the Buckeyes. Gordon had previously been pledged to Texas State, but his move gives Ohio State another highly regarded back in a class the staff is still actively shaping.
The commitment also keeps the door open for more movement at the position, since Ohio State is continuing to pursue additional running backs for the 2027 cycle. Gordons offer list already included multiple Power 4 schools, so his decision adds more weight to a class that is still far from finished and could become even more crowded before signing day arrives. [Read more 🡒]