Ohio State's superstar ended last year as the best and enters 2026 sitting on the throne but still in need of at least some help.
The unquestioned superstar in all of college football is Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith. Ever since he entered college football two seasons ago, he has been the best receiver in the country.
There was an argument to be heard in the first five weeks of his career, but ever since the back half of his freshman year, he has been the standard at the wide receiver position.
His 2025 season was the unquestioned best in the country. According to Pro Football Focus, which admittedly isn't a perfect science, Smith received a rating of 90.7, which was the best in the country.
Truthfully, I see that grade and would love to see the criteria of how he lost 9.3 points, but thats niether her no there. The truth is that there is no one better in the game than him, and if the Buckeyes want to ascend to the top of the sport, he needs to be great, and he also needs some help.
The 2026 season is going to be very challenging for Smith because it will be the hardest test of his career. In his first two years, he has had the role of a sidekick. His freshman year, he had Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate to take the heat off of him. Last year, he and Tate were tearing up opposing defenses weekly.
This year, Smith has four unproven players behind him. One of Brandon Inniss, Kyle Parker, Devin McCuin, or Chris Henry Jr. is going to have to ascend and ascend quickly.
Smith has done the unthinkable before, but being required to beat double and triple teams every week is not a recipe for success for him personally or for the team's success.
Smith will need it and so will his quarterback, Julian Sayin, as Sayin tries to shake the very disappointing end of the 2025 season.
Now, if all goes as planned and Inniss proves that he has just been waiting his turn and Henry Jr. shows that he is the next guy up, then there will be a lot of Buckeye wins in December and January next year.
If the alternative happens, then Smith is going to be fighting an uphill battle, and the Buckeyes are going to have to get creative on offense.
However it all shakes out, Buckeye fans, enjoy the final 15-plus games of Smith's career at Ohio State as he etches his name as one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play college football.
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