Former Ohio State Buckeyes safety and future first-round pick Caleb Downs has some sage advice for new Ohio State offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Ohio State Buckeyes' star safety Caleb Downs has spent every workday during the week for the past two seasons having to deal with wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Day after day, week after week, from Tuesday to Thursday, Downs and the Buckeyes defense had to find ways to defend No. 4.
Then, on Saturdays, the program got to watch from the sidelines as nearly every single team had to try to find answers for him that simply were not there.
On Downs's podcast with his brother Josh, Caleb gave some pretty simple yet astute advice to the new offensive coordinator, Arthur Smith. When asked what advice he would give, with a smirk, he said, "Uhh, get the ball to number four"
Yes, sometimes it is as simple as that. Smith is the best player in all of college football, and he should be treated as such in next year's offense.
That is one of the major positive that hasn't been talked about enough because it gets into the weeds of X's and O's. The real difference that NFL offensive coordinators provide is that they call plays based on matchups and getting the ball to their best players rather than having the best plays.
We saw this last year in the Big Ten Championship, but that wasn't the case for Ohio State. Day's offense was down in the red zone with three tight ends on the field and not their two best wide receivers.
It's players, not plays, that win you football games, and that's what Downs is calling for next year.
Smith hasn't been short of targets, relatively speaking. Last season, he finished with 87 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns. Those stats finish as the seventh, fourth, and sixth best numbers in the country.
Really, really good numbers, but not good enough.
The goal for next season should be at least 100 catches, at least 1,500 yards, and at least 15 touchdowns. That's the floor they have to clear if they want to get back to the National Championship.
The Buckeyes roster, especially on the offensive side of the football, is going to take a major step back next year. Smith is going to have to carry the load of the passing game in a significant way next year.
It is up to Arthur Smith and the Buckeyes offensive staff to find different and creative ways to get him up and, for Heaven's sake, get the ball to No. 4.