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Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs land on On3's too-early All-American team

Spencer-Holbrookby:Spencer Holbrook•about 9 hours•

SpencerHolbrook

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Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith catches a 56-yard deep ball against Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray. (Chad Weaver, Blue & Gold)

COLUMBUS — Ohio State will once again have one of the best rosters in all of college football next season, even as the Buckeyes are sending 17 players to the NFL Draft this spring from their national championship team.

The program might even have the two best players in all of college football returning for next season, which is why both wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs cracked On3 national college football expert Ari Wasserman’s way-too-early All-American team he released Tuesday.

Here’s what Wasserman said about each of those two projected All-American selections — and why each of them made his first-team list:

First team: Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State: Smith was the best player in college football last year. You may get some pushback from some on that notion, but he’d likely be a high-end first-round pick if he were in the NFL Draft this year. After helping Ohio State capture the national title last year, Smith returns for his true sophomore season in what will have the entire country tuning in to see what’s next.

First team: Caleb Downs, Ohio State: Downs was one of the best safeties in college football as a true freshman at Alabama in 2023. He followed that up by being the best safety in college football at Ohio State in 2024, helping lead the Buckeyes to the national title. Ohio State had to replace defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, but Downs is the ultimate security blanket for any coach. Downs erases the field and always shows up in Ohio State’s biggest moments.

Of course, both Smith and Downs made various first-team All-American lists last season; Downs was even a consensus first-team All-American thanks to his performance at safety for the Buckeyes last year.

Smith, meanwhile, somehow missed out on consensus All-American honors despite being the best wide receiver in college football. He finished the year with 76 grabs for 1,315 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns — and he had a rushing touchdown for the Buckeyes, as well.

Smith had 19 catches for 381 yards and five touchdown grabs during the four-game College Football Playoff run, finishing as the talk of the sport when the Buckeyes won the national championship last month.

Now both Smith and Downs will return for another year with Ohio State, looking to repeat as national champs. They’re both already gaining buzz as potential first-team All-Americans for the 2025 season.

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