Kirk Herbstreit on Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith: 'He could be the best they've ever had'
Kirk Herbstreit sung the praises of Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on Saturday’s edition of ESPN College GameDay.
While the Buckeyes have become Wide Receiver U over the last couple of seasons, with players like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Marvin Harrison Jr. donning the Ohio State uniform, Herbstreit stated his belief that Smith could elevate above them all, which is some ridiculously high praise for the pass catcher.
“I mean, I don’t want to get — I don’t want to exaggerate here and say, ‘He’s going to be the best ever,’ but he could be the best that they’ve ever had there,” Herbstreit said, regarding Smith. “This dude is a grown man, 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, and Ryan Day and Chip Kelly said he came in just so polished with his route running, his knowledge of the offense, the way he plays, the way he works, his humility, which is very rare for a high-profile wide receiver.
“But this guy, I think we’ll find out the coming weeks, Oregon, Iowa, that’s when you’re really going to learn how good he is.”
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While the competition hasn’t been stout, Smith has been impressive through the first two games of his collegiate career, amassing 11 catches for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Additionally, he’s averaging more than 19 yards per reception.
Ohio State has known they have something special in Smith since he signed with the Buckeyes after being ranked as the No. 1 overall player in the country for the class of 2024, per the On3 Industry rankings. He has lived up to the hype thus far.
Aside from Herbstriet, Smith has received immense praise from some other top football players, like Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith. He’s been around numerous talented receivers throughout his NFL career, and the veteran believes the Ohio State star will end up being better than all of them and everyone else who has ever played the position.
He recently spoke with CBS Sports about his younger cousin, and his expectations for the former five-star recruit.
“I’ve seen a lot of great receivers and I’ve also had the chance to watch JJ since he was about 10 years old,” Geno Smith said. “He’s going to be the best receiver ever. I really believe that.”
With how good the freshman has already looked, it’s hard to argue with Geno Smith and Kirk Herbstreit about the sky being the limit. Time will tell, but it’s easy to see why there’s so much hype around Jeremiah Smith.
On3’s Matt Connolly contributed to this article.