Ryan Day believes Jeremiah Smith is a ‘hard player to have a comp with’

It’s only been two games, but many are ready to declare Jeremiah Smith the next great Ohio State receiver. The true freshman has been been the Buckeyes leading receiver with 11 catches for 211 yards through the first two games, albeit against lower level opponents.

He also has three touchdowns, tying him with Marvin Harrison Jr. for fifth all-time among Ohio State freshman. The record is eight, and he is already on pace to surpass that.

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Buckeyes coach Ryan Day joined the Andy & Ari On3 podcast with Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman to break down the early performance from Smith. Although he wasn’t ready to place him among the top Ohio State recruits in history just yet, he acknowledged why there would be discussion about it.

“I don’t think it’s crazy for you guys to be talking about it,” he said. “I think it’s probably inappropriate for me to talk about in that he’s only played two games and that he’s so young. I think the easy thing to do is to get out in front of ourselves. If I’m starting to talk too much about that, it’s not a good look and it’s not fair to him. He still has to be young. He’s gotta make his mistakes. He’s gotta grow.

“I think he’s a hard player to have a comp with because of his size. His explosiveness, his ability to run, his approach. He’s very mature for his age.”

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Smith ranked as the No. 1 player in the 2024 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. So far he’s looked the part and certainly has a chance to etch his name in the record books by the time this season is over.

However, he’s still a freshman.

Day recognizes that as talented as Jeremiah Smith is, his youth will also make him prone to mistakes. As the competition level starts to increase over the next few weeks, he wants to keep expectations at a reasonable level with all that in mind.

“Just like everything else this year, I think the key is for him to be able to be who he is and try to get better every day and have great practices,” Day said. “Make mistakes and learn from that. Everything he’s doing is for the first time. I know everybody’s excited about him. We are too. He is a special player. But I think we just gotta take it one week at a time right now.”

Ohio State has become known for its receivers in recent years, and with Harrison gone to the NFL, Jeremiah Smith looks to be next in line. He’ll look to keep up his impressive start to the season when Ohio State takes on Marshall on Sept. 21.