Junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) stiff-arms for extra yards after a completion in the Buckeyes’ season opener vs. Ball State. Credit: Liam Ahern | Managing Photo Editor
Jeremiah Smith’s first catch of the 2026 season resulted in a feat he’s experienced many times during his college career: hearing the crowd in Ohio Stadium erupt while being swarmed by his teammates in the end zone.
In the first quarter of last Saturday’s season opener, the All-American junior wide receiver pinned the ball against his helmet with one hand to haul in a 48-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Julian Sayin.?
While Smith has made his presence felt on the stat sheet in most games he’s played in as a Buckeye, getting to celebrate a touchdown in the end zone is something that Smith has not done against Ohio State’s upcoming opponent, Texas.?
Across his career, Smith averages 87.4 receiving yards per game, but in two games against Texas, Smith has averaged 23 receiving yards per game.?
Saturday’s matchup against Texas marks the third consecutive year Ohio State will face the Longhorns, who the Buckeyes have beaten in the previous two seasons.
Head coach Ryan Day described how valuable Smith has been to the Buckeyes, even when his numbers on the field aren’t as high.?
“I’ve said it before, what makes a great player great, [is] he makes everybody on the field better and certainly [Smith] does that,” Day said.?
Defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr., who was a teammate of Smith’s in high school at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Florida, described that although Smith wants to make key plays on the field, he values winning over his individual achievements.
“Of course Texas is going to do whatever to take him out of the game, but as long as we win, he’s good with it,” Jackson said.??
Smith made that message clear at Big Ten Media Days in July that winning was what was most important to him on the field.?
“I’m really just about the team first and that’s winning a national championship [and] Big Ten championship, bringing more hardware back to Ohio State,” Smith said July 29.?
After being held to a career-low one catch for just three receiving yards in Ohio State’s 2024 College Football Playoff semifinal 28-14 win against Texas, when the Buckeyes faced the Longhorns the next season, Smith was held in check again. Smith caught six receptions for 43 receiving yards and zero touchdowns, in addition to two dropped passes, in Ohio State’s 2025 season-opening 14-7 win.
For Sayin, who made his first career start against the Longhorns last season, he described that he thought he could’ve targeted Smith more.
“Whether it’s a certain coverage or something like that, they tried to double team him or whatever it was, I think just sometimes the ball didn’t go his way,” Sayin said. “I think there was opportunities maybe even last year where I could’ve taken the ball towards him. I wouldn’t say they limited him in any aspect.”
Day described the impact of getting Smith involved in the upcoming matchup.
“It’s no mystery that when the ball is in his hands good things happen,” Day said. “He’ll always be part of how we game plan and what we do.”
Day said that with Texas having a new defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, who was the head coach of Florida from 2011-14 and South Carolina from 2016-20, there are still unknowns factored into game planning against the Longhorns.
“Coach Muschamp’s a great coach, and we all have a lot of respect for him, but he really hasn’t called a game in a while, so there’s unknown here on how it’s going to play out, what they’re going to do defensively,” Day said. “We have to be able to respond to that in-game and figure that part of it out.”
However, there was also a coaching change on Ohio State’s offensive side of the ball.?
During the offseason, the Buckeyes hired new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Jeremiah Smith revealed how the offense is different from a season ago, prior to the start of the 2026 season.?
“What’s different? Get me the ball,” he said Aug. 26 while laughing.
In the Buckeyes’ 2026 season opener, Smith tallied eight receptions, 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns in just the first half of Ohio State’s 56-3 win over Ball State.
Despite Smith’s limited impact in the previous two matchups, Day said Ohio State still looks to incorporate the program’s leading receiver the last two seasons into the offense.?
“We’re going to work hard to make sure he has a major impact on the game,” Day said.?
