Will Howard: 'Sky is the limit' for Jeremiah Smith

Will Howard referred to his Ohio State wide receivers as “mistake erasers.” True freshman Jeremiah Smith is the closest thing the Buckeyes have to Wite-Out.

“Jeremiah, he’s gonna wipe away some mistakes,” the Kansas State graduate transfer quarterback said Wednesday on the “Triple Option Podcast.”

Howard continued: “That ball I threw to him at Michigan State, it wasn’t a great throw, but, hey, he made it right. He made it right. … I’d like to think that I can do that for other guys at times. But it goes both ways. My role on this team, I feel like, is a facilitator: Just getting the ball in the right people’s hands and making decisions. I think I’ve done a pretty good job of that so far. I probably had one or two plays I’d want back a game. And that’s just growing and learning every single week. But I feel pretty good about where we’re at as an offense, I think we’ve just continued to get better every single week.

“With the amount of weapons that we have and the way our offensive line is playing right now, it’s gonna be hard to stop us, for sure.”

Although senior wideout Emeka Egbuka starred last weekend with three contested touchdown grabs in the red zone during a 35-7 win over Iowa, Smith has been the spotlight all season.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound, first-year receiver joined the program as the On3 Industry Ranking’s No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 class. Five games into his college career, he leads Ohio State — an NFL wide receiver factory of late — with 453 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Smith has recorded 23 receptions, the second most on the team, and he’s scored one rushing touchdown.

The Chaminade-Madonna Prep product and Miami Gardens, Florida, native has made three one-handed catches in the last two weeks against Michigan State and Iowa, a pair of them resulting in touchdowns. Smith has also scored touchdowns of 70 and 53 yards, the first of which saw him leave five chasing Western Michigan defenders in the dust.

“The sky is the limit for that kid,” Howard said. “The fact that he’s already as good as he is as an 18-year-old true freshman, man, it’s special. I’ve never seen someone come in with that amount of talent and also the work ethic that he has.

“He’s humble. He takes coaching really well. He doesn’t complain about getting the ball at all. You never really hear a peep from him. And then he goes out there and makes plays that are just, I mean, otherworldly, like not from this earth, dude. This guy’s like no one I’ve ever seen. But I’m sure glad he’s on my team.”

Rob Stone, one of the three hosts of “The Triple Option” and a longtime commentator, asked Howard if he ever just tells his talented wide receivers to “just go get open, because I’m gonna throw it your way.”

“Damn near,” Howard said. “That does happen sometimes. I mean, it’s like, ‘Hey, Jeremiah, he’s gonna be down there somewhere, just put it up for him.’ And I feel like a lot of times — and I don’t even think we’ve really done this a lot yet — but getting into a scramble drill with those guys, I mean, then at that point you’re just playing ball: backyard football, throw the ball up.

“There were some times in camp where Mek’s (Emeka’s) making some plays, and JJ (Jeremiah) is making plays. Carnell [Tate], like, everyone just kind of free styling a little bit. And I think that’s a good part of my game — I think I can get out of the pocket and extend plays a little bit. I don’t even think we’ve really had to do that that much yet. I’ve been pretty clean in the pocket, and the O-Line’s … I can’t say enough, they’re playing at a really high level. I think they’ve just gotten better every single week.”

Good pass protection is key, but so are playmakers downfield. Howard has those in spades, starting with Smith, perhaps the ultimate “mistake eraser” on the Ohio State offense this season.