Jeremiah Smith bluntly addresses reports of schools tampering to get him to leave Ohio State
On3’s Pete Nakos reported Friday morning that Ohio State star receiver Jeremiah Smith has been offered $4.5-$5 million to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal and go to another school. But the Buckeyes now appear to be in the clear.
Smith addressed the notion that he might leave Ohio State Friday afternoon, quote Tweeting a tweet from Jay Wimbrow, who is associated with Jeremiah Smith’s former 7-on-7 team, the South Florida Express. Wimbrow posted on Twitter that Smith was not leaving Ohio State because his family is too loyal. Smith confirmed that he isn’t planning to go anywhere.
Smith was arguably the top player in college football in 2024, and NFL Draft analysts have said that he would be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during his freshman season, helping the Buckeyes clinch the national championship. He also had the game-sealing reception in the national title game against Notre Dame.
Prior to coming to Ohio State, Smith was ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the country in the class of 2024, per the On3 Industry Rankings. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day appeared on the Dan Patrick Show Friday and addressed the report that Smith was offered $4.5 million or more to transfer.
“I think the first thing you have to do is bring in great people and great families, but you also have to value them and try to do everything you can to get what they deserve and what’s fair,” Day told Patrick on Friday. “But there’s also something to be said for being around a program like ours, and you think if it’s all equal, we’ll have our chance to get our share of guys.
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“But it is different, there’s no question. I think as coaches, we’re all looking for a little bit more guidelines on this. Everything is so gray right now.”
Smith excelled during the College Football Playoff, catching 19 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns across the four games. Day feels like the NCAA enforcing rules when it comes to tampering with Jeremiah Smith and others would help fix a lot of issues.
“I think one of the big issues we have across the board in college football right now is enforcement,” Day said. “I mean, you know some of the stories of some of the things that have gone on just within the last couple of years or even in the past, but enforcement is really strained right now. So, until we start enforcing some of these rules, people can just call someone’s agent or someone’s parents and offer them a certain amount of money, and then it goes from there. That’s just part of it. There’s so many other things that come into play.
“That’s one of the things to me that I think we’ve got to get addressed in college sports and college football is enforcement. Because right now, there’s virtually none. And it’s gotten worse as time has gone on.”