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Ohio State 5-star WR commit Jeremiah Smith meets Tim Tebow at Florida game

Wg0vf-nP_400x400by:Keegan Pope•11/26/23•

bykeeganpope

Jeremiah Smith copy 1
Photo by Chad Simmons/On3

Florida hosted one of its biggest football recruiting weekends of the season on Saturday when the Gators welcomed rival Florida State to town.

Among the most notable names was Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver and Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith, who is arguably UF’s biggest flip target in the 2024 cycle. The Gators made an impression on Smith, he told GatorsOnline.com, and he also got to meet UF legend Tim Tebow during the game.

Smith posted a photo of the two on his Instagram with the goat emoji and tagged Tebow in the photo.

Tebow, who played for the Gators from 2006-2009, was honored during first quarter of the game for his induction in the College Football Hall of Fame.

Gators still in the mix for Jeremiah Smith

Despite the loss on Saturday night and a less-than-stellar 2023 season on the field, Florida is still in contention with Smith, the No. 1 overall recruit in the class.

“Right now, yeah, they do,” he said when asked if Florida still had a chance to land him. “I just have to see how the unofficial visit goes and the house visits. Just seeing how those goes and the plan goes, that’s all.”

Smith has been committed to the Buckeyes since December 2022, but has taken numerous visits to other schools over the past year. Florida, Florida State and Miami have all hosted him multiple times this fall, but it’s the Seminoles who appear to have the best chance of three to flip him, according to On3 Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons.

“Florida State is the threat to Ohio State for Jeremiah Smith,” Simmons wrote last week. “The buzz has picked up since his visit for the Miami game and the Seminoles are making this interesting with just over a month to go. Smith has strong connections at Ohio State, and it starts with Brian Hartline. The communication is still strong there, the confidence in holding on to Smith remains fairly high, but there is some optimism in Tallahassee as well. Florida has been in the mix, but it is Florida State with all the momentum now when talking Ohio State’s biggest competition. Ohio State is Ohio State, they check a lot of boxes for Smith, but Florida State is making this more interesting late.”

Smith currently has plans to take an official visit back to Tallahassee before the Early Signing Period next month, and could return to both Miami and Florida as well.