Urban Meyer reacts to immediate impact of Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams

Two of the best wide receivers in college football are true freshmen. And they’re starring for national championship contenders.

No. 3 Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith and No. 1 Alabama’s Ryan Williams have been turning heads since Week 1 of the 2024 season. This past weekend, however, they put on a jaw-dropping show.

Smith scored two touchdowns in a 38-7 win at Michigan State, one rushing and one receiving, the second of which came from a one-handed catch that saw him extend his right hand and pluck the ball, in stride, en route to the end zone. That was actually Smith’s second one-handed grab of the Buckeyes’ late-first-half scoring drive, as he also went up and used his right hand to reel in a 27-yard downfield pass while sandwiched between a pair of Spartans defenders near the boundary.

Williams, meanwhile, caught six passes for 177 yards, including a game-winning, 75-yard touchdown in a 41-34 win over Georgia. He spoiled a comeback bid from the Bulldogs, who were once down 28-0 in Tuscaloosa, and made what could very well be the sport’s play of the year, thanks to a graceful snag, a balletic twirl and then a video-game-like spin.

Williams is 17 years old. Smith is 18 years old.

“The Triple Option” podcast — hosted by former NFL and Alabama running back Mark Ingram II, longtime commentator Rob Stone and three-time national champion head coach Urban Meyer discussed the immediate impact Smith and Williams are making, less than a year removed from them finishing their high school football careers.

“I got an opinion on that, and that is because a lot of these guys are getting really well trained,” Meyer said Wednesday. “It used to be you played football and then the other sports, which, by the way, I’m a fan of. But a lot of these guys, I mean the training, the weight training, the specialty training, and I don’t know Ryan Williams or his background, [but] that play is one of the greatest football plays you’ll ever see.

“Kirby can’t say, ‘Well, they should have…’ — no, no, no. You you can’t stop what that kid did. You just can’t do that. I mean, that was one of those plays that you just can’t stop. So I think there’s a reason. There’s a reason why you’re seeing some of this. Kids are really well trained coming out of high school.”

Smith was the top overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, which had Williams close behind at No. 5 overall. Both were unanimous five-star recruits.

Smith made a name for himself at Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Florida, and Williams did the same at Saraland High School in Saraland, Alabama.

“Well, Coach,” Ingram said in response to Meyer, “I train throughout the week down here at a local facility all summer long. And it’s a Wednesday, and I’m seeing some high school football players in here with me at like 10 a.m. training, and I’m like, ‘Aren’t you supposed to be in school?’ I’m like, ‘Why aren’t you in class right now?’

“He’s like, ‘Well, I do online school,’ or, ‘I do homeschool.’ So you get to train all day? I can’t imagine if I just got to train all day when I was in high school, middle school, etc. These young kids are coming out as specimens, as aliens. You see Jeremiah Smith making two one-handed catches in the end zone. Ryan Williams doing gymnastic stuff with his body control, catching the ball, sprinting, accelerating and making two [Georgia defenders] hit each other and then accelerating for the touchdown. I mean, these dudes are aliens.”

Through four games, Williams has tallied 16 receptions, 462 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Smith has scored six total touchdowns, five receiving and one rushing, in addition to recording 19 catches for 364 receiving yards.

They are awe-inspiring playmakers who look NFL-ready as true freshmen.