Joel Klatt proclaims Ohio State has the best offensive, defensive players in 2025

Ohio State is losing a lot of talent off of its 2024 national championship team, but the Buckeyes are also returning two of the best players in all of college football in receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs.

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt recently joined ‘The Herd‘ with Colin Cowherd and declared that Ohio State will have the best offensive player in the country in 2025, as well as the best defensive player in the country.

“The best offensive player in college football next year is Jeremiah Smith. The best defensive player in college football next year is Caleb Downs,” Klatt said. “Well, that’s a heck of a start of a foundation if you’re going to try to ‘rebuild,’ if you will.”

Jeremiah Smith took the college football world by storm during his freshman season, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. He had one of the biggest plays of the year for the Buckeyes, sealing the national championship game against Notre Dame with a 56-yard reception on third-and-long late in the fourth quarter.

As for Caleb Downs, after transferring in from Alabama, he recorded 81 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions and six pass breakups as a sophomore at Ohio State.

Yes, the Buckeyes have some holes to fill ahead of the 2025 season, but they also still have an extremely talented roster, led by two of the best players in the country.

Joel Klatt predicts Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith will be a 10-time All-Pro

Although he has to stay in college for two more seasons, Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith already has franchises waiting for the chance to have him in the NFL.

Joel Klatt set the ceiling on Smith again last week while on ‘The Herd’. In talking about Smith, Klatt expects him to be the best receiver in the sport within his first few years at the next level, with him thinking he could earn double-digit recognitions overall as an All-Pro.

“He’s got to play two more years of college football which means, in four years, Jeremiah Smith is the best receiver in football. He’s the No. 1 on any team in the NFL,” Klatt stated. “Smith could be an all-time great, all-time great wide receiver, right. I truly believe he will be a 10-time All-Pro. I know that, like – I don’t want to put the cart before the horse. I don’t want to put too much pressure on this guy.

“He has a chance to be an all-time great. He’s got a chance to be one of the greatest wide receivers that we’ve ever seen.”

That comes following his true freshman year with the Buckeyes. In 16 games as their leading receiver, Smith had record-breaking stats with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns.

This has been the evaluation on Smith, though, since he was a prospect. It’s just now even more the opinion of him now that it’s been seen on the field over this fall in Columbus.

“His combination of size, speed, physicality, body control, ability to catch the ball, his route-running ability? Like, he’s the best freshman I’ve ever seen… He is the best wide receiver I’ve ever seen at his age – period,” said Klatt. “He would be a top-three pick in the draft now.”