Ryan Day praises five-star freshman Jeremiah Smith: 'He had a great offseason'

Ohio State landed the most talented player in the nation in the 2024 recruiting class, snagging a commitment from five-star receiver prospect Jeremiah Smith out of south Florida.

Smith has immediately turned heads in Columbus, to the point that even coach Ryan Day is having trouble tempering expectations.

“I don’t want to put too much out there, but he had a great offseason,” Day said on Thursday after the first practice of fall camp. “Did some thing that some freshmen haven’t done before in terms of recognition and some of the hard work he’s put in. You talk about the humility of a young man who’s as talented as he is, that’s special.”

That humility is something that has helped Jeremiah Smith get up to speed quickly. He’s not assuming he knows things, but is instead leaning on veterans to help get him up to speed.

And the Buckeyes have some talented veterans.

Emeka Egbuka has been around the block a few times, and he’s taken Jeremiah Smith under his wing this offseason as the talented true freshman looks to make his mark. That’s no small deal.

“College is hard. You go through times where you have doubts and you’re like, ‘Am I cut out for this? Can I do this?’” Egbuka said. “And just receiving that confidence from someone who you know is not lying to you and is side by side to put the work in with — it’s really encouraging. So, we try to do that for the younger guys. Let them know you know that they’re in the right spot and they’re doing everything the right way. They just gotta continue at it.”

Smith has been doing just that. He’s in position to make some major contributions this fall.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound prospect has all the talented in the world.

“We’re excited that he’s out there every day, and we’re all excited about it,” Day said. “But again, I don’t want to get too far out in front of this one, but he’s got a very bright future ahead of him.”

As a recruit, Jeremiah Smith was ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect in the nation in the 2024 recruiting class. He was the No. 1 receiver in the class and the No. 1 overall player in the state of Florida, hailing from Hollywood (FL) Chaminade-Madonna Prep.