Jeremiah Smith: College Football's Wide Receiver Wunderkind

Ben Glassmire breaks down one of the greatest phenoms in modern college football, Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith. What makes him great and what can his ceiling be?

Photo by Jason Mowry/Getty Images

Last year, Ohio State freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith seemingly forgot that he was 19 years old. A fresh recruit in the transfer portal era, where established talent often takes precedence over young and inexperienced players, is not the ideal environment for a true freshman to shine. None of this seemed to bother Smith as he etched himself in the record books time and time again.

During the recruiting process, Smith became only the second wide receiver to ever claim the title of the top overall recruit in the country, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings. Smith’s freshman season outproduced the career totals of the other receiver to receive the top-recruit honor, Dorial Green-Beckham.

Last season, Smith posted an eye-popping 1,315 yards and earned 2nd-team All-American honors. Green-Beckham never truly realized his full potential, totaling only 1,278 yards during the entirety of his rocky stint at Missouri.

Looking at Ohio State’s loaded receiver group, it is even more impressive that Smith made his way up the depth chart to share the top role with future Tampa Bay Buccaneers first-round pick Emeka Egbuka.

Ohio State’s lineup consisted of Egbuka, mentioned above, former five-star Carnell Tate, who will make his case for a first-round selection this season, and a plethora of other four and five-star recruits. It speaks to the trust the coaching staff had in Smith to elevate him to an integral role on a team that believed they could push for a national title.

My study of Jeremiah Smith began with his first-ever collegiate action against Akron. On his first target, it was easy to tell that the nerves and anticipation had gotten to him. Playcaller Chip Kelly schemed up a standard tunnel screen for him and quarterback Will Howard put it right into his hands, but Smith simply dropped the ball, clearly thinking one too many steps ahead about the play he could make.

Unfortunately for Ohio State opponents, it would be one of the few mistakes Smith made throughout the season. Smith more than made up for it during the rest of the day, totaling nearly 100 yards and catching the first two touchdowns of his career.

I could continue to rave over the numbers that Smith posted during his inaugural collegiate season, but what is more impressive to my film-rotted brain is precisely how he was able to dominate the sport at such a young age. The tape shows a player who has developed far beyond his years and is passionate about the little things that will carry him far in his career.

A Contortionist’s Body Control

Former Arizona Wildcat and now Carolina Panther Tetairoa McMillan was one of the rare, recent freshman wide receivers who made a sizable impact for his team. Arguably, McMillan’s best traits were his body control and ability to contort himself to make tough catches with limited space, a trait shared with Smith.

For Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, having a receiver in the game who he trusted to bail out errant throws was an enormous asset this past season. Smith’s universal trust from teammates and coaches, in spite of his age, stems in part from this prodigious body control.

Unless you were closely following Smith in high school, your first exposure to his game likely came on the viral video of an incredible catch Smith made in spring practice. This play is a perfect example of Smith’s rare natural abilities.

Here, Smith has his back to the sideline, with a defender right in his chest, and still manages to maintain proper positioning as he is falling out of bounds and making the catch.

There are traits, through development and coaching, that players can improve significantly over the course of their college and professional careers. Body control is not typically one of them.

It appears primarily as an innate awareness of the sideline, spacing and defender behaviors. Smith can elevate his floor from play to play as his quarterback has comfort that he can rely on Smith to maintain discipline in his positioning and be “open” even when defenders are in his face.

It’s mind-boggling that with no college experience, Smith became a security blanket and go-to target for Will Howard, who had no shortage of reps during his career.

“Hips Don’t Lie”

Route running can make or break a player’s profile. Elite athleticism can only take a player so far without the technical prowess that comes with many areas of the wide receiver position. NFL history is littered with receivers with outstanding athletic profiles and limited production — Hakeem Butler, Dareke Young, Jacob Harris, Denzel Mims and Miles Boykin are ones that spring from my degenerate brain.

Jeremiah Smith is an excellent case study on how route-running savvy put him on the field early in his career. Smith manipulates defenders as he sets up and stems his routes to attack leverage and exploit any mistakes.