Ohio State has spent the last two seasons watching Jeremiah Smith turn into exactly the kind of wide receiver who tilts everything. Even as a freshman, he looked like a star before most players have figured out the speed of the college game. By the time the Buckeyes finished their run to the 2024 national championship, Smith was already the best player on the roster as a first-year standout.
Last season brought a little turbulence. A late-year injury slowed him down, kept him out of some games, and left him less than fully healthy heading into the College Football Playoff.
Even with that, he still put together a terrific season. Now, with the 2026 campaign approaching, he’s being viewed as the best player in the country.
That kind of reputation is only going to grow once people start talking seriously about the 2027 NFL Draft. Smith has one season left in Columbus, and when that draft arrives, he is expected to extend Ohio State’s run of first-round receiver picks to six straight. The latest draft buzz around him should make every defense on the schedule uneasy.
Dane Brugler of The Athletic has Smith pegged as the clear top receiver prospect in the 2027 class. In his breakdown of Smith’s best traits, Brugler wrote “almost everything”. He also said Smith is one of the best prospects he has ever evaluated.
That’s not the kind of praise Brugler hands out lightly. He studies every draft class, every year, and for him to put Smith in that company says plenty.
It also explains why Smith is already being treated like a problem before the season even starts. He’s not just good.
He’s the kind of player opponents have to account for every snap.
Ohio State’s schedule only adds to that pressure. The Buckeyes are staring at one of the toughest slates in the country, and they’re going to need Smith to show up as one of the best players on the field every week. Their path to the College Football Playoff is not going to be simple, and it could be the hardest road of the Ryan Day era.
There’s even a real path, at least in theory, to Smith going first overall in the 2027 NFL Draft. If he plays to his ceiling, that conversation is on the table. It would still depend on which team ends up with the top pick, because a club in need of a quarterback would almost certainly go that direction instead.
A receiver has not gone No. 1 overall since Keyshawn Johnson in 1996, and Smith is the first wideout in a long time who can honestly be mentioned as someone who might end that drought. He has the kind of talent that can alter a franchise quickly.
He also enters the season as one of the Heisman Trophy favorites. Devonta Smith was the last receiver to win the award, and Jeremiah Smith is heading into this year with even more hype than Devonta Smith had before that season.
Still, the individual awards are not the main thing on his mind. Smith is focused on winning a national championship in his final year, and that remains the bigger target.
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Jacy Sheldon Shares What Ohio State Womens Basketball Still Means To Her
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While in Dallas with the Sky for a game against the Wings, Sheldon spoke publicly about what her time at Ohio State meant to her and what she hopes current players take from it. Her message was rooted in the same kind of program standard that helped define her own run in Columbus, with an emphasis on embracing the grind and staying with the work when the season gets difficult. [Read more 🡒]