'I just keep my head down': Jeremiah Smith isn't letting the hype affect him

Ohio State returned a horde of draft-eligible and starter-level players this offseason, added a two-time, first-team All-SEC running back and a graduate transfer quarterback with a Big 12 title and 27 starts under his belt.

None of them have gotten the amount of attention true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has this offseason.

“It’s a blessing, but, I mean, you don’t want that hype to affect you and all this other stuff that’s around me,” Smith said Friday.

“I just keep my head down and just find ways to get better each and every day.”

Smith has approximately 204,000 Instagram followers and another 29,600 followers on X. Along with safety Caleb Downs — a second-team AP All-American who transferred in from Alabama this offseason — Smith is currently starring in a new commercial with American Eagle, thanks to an NIL deal facilitated through the Ohio State-driven NIL collective The Foundation.

Speaking of NIL, Smith is reaping the benefits of it, including a deal with car dealership Ricart Automotive, which has given the phenom freshman a new Dodge Durango 392 to drive.

When asked if he enjoys everything that comes with being the top overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, Smith answered in “yes but no” fashion.

“I do, but at the same time, I just like to be a normal person,” the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Smith said.

Smith tries to do that by avoiding all the talk surrounding his name. To him, it’s “very easy.”

“I mean, just don’t be on social media that much,” said Smith, a Miami Gardens standout who starred at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory in Hollywood, Florida. “Just don’t look at Twitter (X) and all that other stuff. So that’s easy for me.”

Smith makes a lot look easy.

He’s already broken the internet a few times in his short stay at Ohio State. He “Mossed” sophomore cornerback Jermaine Mathews Jr. and beat senior corner Denzel Burke downfield in single coverage during Ohio State’s Student Appreciation Day back in late March.

Then, a week later in another spring practice, he hauled in an eyebrow-raising, one-handed and toe-tapping touchdown catch. Smith became the first Ohio State true freshman to ever shed his black stripe in only four practices.

Now he’s the first true freshman in program history to earn the rank of “Iron Buckeye,” according to Buckeyes players and coaches who have spoken with the media this week. To Ohio State, an “Iron Buckeye” is someone who showcases “unquestionable training, dedication, determination, discipline, toughness and leadership” during winter and summer workouts. Strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti picked 10 of them this year, including Smith.

“He embodied everything that is a part of that conversation,” co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline said Friday. “It’s not just lifting numbers, speed numbers. It is the way you carry yourself, the way you train, the edge to you. It’s all that.”

Hartline discussed how every Buckeyes receiver arrives at a different place and is on his own path. But he emphasized that the end goal isn’t just to start at Ohio State — that’s only one of the goals along the way.

“So once you start, then you gotta be productive,” Hartline said. “And then once you’re productive and you have a name, you gotta justify that name. And then you become a first-round pick, and you gotta show your worth of being a first-round pick.

“So the main goal is where we’re at. [Jeremiah] has a lot of tools. He works extremely hard.”

His physical ability is well documented, except it’s that work ethic Hartline touched on that’s stood out to sixth-year Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

“When he gets out there, very, very few MAs (missed assignments) for a young player,” Day said Thursday. “He takes his game very, very seriously. He puts the work in off the field, and if he doesn’t make the play, he’s hard on himself. Rare do you find somebody who’s as talented as is he is but has really good discipline and skill at that age.

“We haven’t played a game yet, but he’s building a lot of respect amongst his teammates, for sure.”

Burke called Smith “a pros pro.” Another Buckeyes senior cornerback, Jordan Hancock, said he knew Smith could play right away the first time Smith caught a pass — actually two passes, both fade balls in the end zone.

Smith’s been in the spotlight, or at least a spotlight, since his sophomore year of high school. The attention parade turned into a stampede his senior year, particularly when he had Ohio State fans coming to his games.

“I was like, ‘Woah,'” Smith said. “I never had that happen, like, no other school, just Ohio State fans came to my game.”

The hype has only continued to mount since then. Leading up to the NFL Draft, Buckeyes great, and this year’s No. 4 overall pick, Marvin Harrison Jr. said Smith can be one of the best wideouts to come through Ohio State. What’s more, Smith’s the top-rated freshman in EA Sports College Football 25.

The expectations are grandiose and, perhaps, extreme. Smith isn’t leaning into them, though.

“I know there’s big expectations for me because I’m the No. 1 player in the country coming in and all the hype around me. So, I mean, I just try to block out all that stuff and just focus on the main thing, just the team and our receiver room and the locker room.

“When the first game comes, if I don’t exceed the expectations that y’all have for me, I don’t really care. I just want to go out there and win a game.”

Smith can handle the attention he’s receiving just like he can handle a double team downfield: with quiet confidence.