Jeremiah Smith has spent only two seasons at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes star is already being talked about like the standard-bearer for college football.
That’s the kind of company Smith now keeps. Sports Illustrated ranked him No. 1 on its list of the 25 college football players with the most to prove and gain in 2026, putting the wide receiver ahead of Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore, Miami receiver Malachi Toney and Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin.
For Smith, the honor comes with the kind of weight that only follows players who have already done a lot and are expected to do even more. If 2026 is indeed his final season in college, the spotlight is only going to get hotter.
Smith’s Ohio State résumé is already the stuff of Buckeye lore. He became college football’s all-time leader in receiving yards by a freshman, then backed it up with another huge year in 2025. He led the Big Ten with 87 receptions and 1,243 receiving yards, and he was named a unanimous All-American.
He’s also still sitting near the top of NFL Draft boards, with Sports Illustrated noting that he remains one of the most coveted prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft.
Ohio State has put some elite wideouts into the league over the years - Marvin Harrison Jr., Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Emeka Egbuka among them - and Smith has a real chance to leave Columbus with the strongest case of the bunch.
Sports Illustrated also pointed out that Smith could push for the Big Ten’s career records in receiving yards and touchdowns before 2026 is over.
And he won’t be doing it alone. The Buckeyes also landed their quarterback on the same list, with Julian Sayin checking in at No. 5 after completing an FBS-best 77% of his passes last season. That pairing gives Ohio State one of the most dangerous quarterback-receiver tandems in the country.
The last piece is the one that still hangs over everything: postseason results. Ohio State dropped its two biggest games of 2025, losing the Big Ten championship and the Cotton Bowl.
Smith has already proven he’s a special college receiver. If he can help bring Ohio State back to the top of the Big Ten and into the national championship race, it would give his Buckeye career the finish it’s been building toward.
In Other News...
Ohio State Freshman Legend Bey Is Starting To Look Worth The Hype
Legend Bey is already getting the kind of early buzz that follows a recruit with real upside, and the freshmans place in Ohio States 2026 class has only grown more noteworthy with the black stripe now off his helmet. Even with missed practice time because of injury and a suspension along the way, he has managed to stay part of the conversation around the Buckeyes young talent, which says plenty about how the staff views him.
Ryan Day has described Bey as a dynamic player with significant potential, and that fits the path that brought him to Columbus in the first place. His recruitment went through a twisty stretch before he signed with Ohio State, including a flip from Tennessee after he was released from his original commitment, so the Buckeyes knew they were getting a player whose story was already a little different. Now the only real question is how quickly that promise turns into a bigger role. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Freshman Legend Bey Is Pushing For A Real Fall Role
Legend Beys first months at Ohio State have already had a little bit of everything, from a winding recruitment that included commitments to Tennessee and the Buckeyes to an early offseason that kept him out of some spring practices. The true freshman running back is back on the field now, and the staffs interest in him has not faded. Even with two established backs ahead of him on the depth chart, Ohio State still sees room for Bey because of the way he can fit into multiple parts of the offense.
What makes Bey worth watching this fall is less about where he sits today and more about how the Buckeyes might use him if they want to get him touches. The coaching staff has looked at him as a player who could be deployed creatively on offense and on special teams, which gives him a clearer path to early playing time than a typical freshman buried on the depth chart. His return to practice has put him back in position to keep pushing for that role, and Ohio State will have to decide how much of it it wants to carve out. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Has One More Captain Debate Fans Will Jump On
Ryan Day has already put the 2026 Ohio State captains in place, and the list comes with a little extra intrigue because it includes seven names, not the more familiar handful fans are used to sorting through. Austin Siereveld and Brandon Inniss are back on the honor roll for a second straight year, a sign that the coaching staff sees real continuity in the leadership group as the Buckeyes turn the page to another season.
Even so, the conversation around captains does not really end when the announcement is made. There is still room for debate about whether the room should be bigger, and players such as Luke Montgomery and Earl Little Jr. naturally invite that kind of discussion as Ohio State looks for the right mix of experience, voice and presence. The official list is set, but this is the sort of decision Buckeye fans will keep revisiting because leadership on a team this size always feels like more than a formality. [Read more 🡒]