COLUMBUS, Ohio — Brett Goetz heard about Jeremiah Smith before he even knew his full name.
The founder of South Florida Express, an elite 7-on-7 program, is usually focused on the varsity teams, but a kid named JJ was generating so much buzz that, during a tournament in Houston, Goetz went to watch the 11-and-under team. When he got to the field, he found Smith, known as JJ by those close to him. He immediately understood the hype.
Though Smith wasn’t the physically overpowering receiver he is now as a 6-foot-3, 218-pound freshman at Ohio State, he still stood out with his athleticism and competitiveness then.
“He showed me how great he was then,” Goetz said, “and to watch his development on every level has been incredible.”
Most programs could only dream of replacing a Heisman Trophy finalist like Marvin Harrison Jr. with a top-recruit like Smith. But Ohio State has become accustomed to having premium talent at wide receiver, with four first-round NFL Draft picks since 2022.
Though he’s one of five five-star recruits in the receiving corps now, Smith in particular has been singled out as the next great one. Hype grew around Smith from the time he arrived in Columbus in January as the top-ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class to the moment he ran through the tunnel at Ohio Stadium in front of 102,011 people as a starter in his collegiate debut against Akron on Saturday.
One of those onlookers was Goetz, who spent much of the week in Columbus around the program catching up with his former South Florida Express players, including Smith and fellow receivers Brandon Inniss and Carnell Tate.
“It was so surreal,” Goetz said. “He’s been waiting for this forever and has been such a fan of Ohio State and (receivers coach) Brian Hartline since the first time he went up there. It was a great moment for him.”
Smith stole the show with a team-high six catches for 92 yards on nine targets, scoring No. 2 Ohio State’s first two touchdowns of the season in a 52-6 win.
Jeremiah Smith made the Bucks’ first TD of the season look easy 😮💨#B1GFootball x @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/dGkXu1Svnn
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 31, 2024
For all the attention, Smith’s first moments in the spotlight didn’t actually go as planned. On the Buckeyes’ first drive, Smith dropped his first target. He was then called for a false start penalty that led to an Ohio State three-and-out.
“We were just like, ‘He’s going to get through this and we’re going to be fine because we see what he does every day in practice,’” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “We knew he was going to settle in.”
What followed is the difference between Smith and most freshmen. While some might have their confidence shot, Smith went back onto the field and caught three passes on the next drive, including the first touchdown of the season.
It was an impressive bounceback for a player who went to the bench upset with himself. It also points to the amount of trust Ohio State has in Smith. Nobody on the sideline had to talk to him to encourage him and the staff didn’t bat an eye. He was always going back in.
“As a freshman you can get your confidence shot real fast, but what was good to see is that Ohio State trusts in Jeremiah,” Goetz said. “Seeing the confidence they have in his ability was great. For one bad play he’ll make 50 good ones.”
When stories of Smith around Columbus are told, they’re often more about the work he puts in behind the scenes than the big catch he made in practice or in a game — even if he filled social media with such highlights throughout spring practice and preseason camp.
Smith became the first freshman to be named an “Iron Buckeye,” honors Ohio State gives to players who demonstrate “unquestionable training, dedication, determination, discipline, toughness and leadership” in the offseason. Goetz can recall times during football season in high school at Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, Fla., when Smith would practice all week and play on Friday, and then Goetz would find him working out, running hills or in the playbook on Saturday or Sunday.
He’s always looking ahead to the next play. It’s clear Smith is not a typical 18-year-old freshman.
“There’s nothing he does or will do that will surprise me because I know how good he is,” Goetz said. “It was cool to do it out of the gate, though, because there was so much build-up.”
Smith was ranked No. 1 in the recruiting class for the clear talent he showed in high school, and that was on full display on Saturday. But it’s his grasp of the mental aspects of the game that allow him to handle the expectations and hype that surrounds him.
Goetz described him as “laser-focused.”
“He’s built different,” Day said. “You can see the size and speed, but typically somebody with that talent doesn’t have the discipline and focus that he does.”
Andrew Ivins, the director of scouting for 247Sports, lives in Florida. He sees elite talent almost daily. Much like Goetz, he remembers being told about Smith before he saw him in person.
Ivins was on his way to Monsignor Pace High School in Miami Gardens to watch defensive lineman Shemar Stewart. Stewart was the No. 9 player in the 2022 class and a key piece of Texas A&M No. 1 class. But Ivins had heard about some young players at Monsignor Pace, too, talented young receivers and a quarterback. The receivers were Joshisa Trader, currently a freshman at Miami, and Smith. The latter caught a few passes in the scrimmage and was so impressive that 247Sports ranked him No. 39 in its initial 2024 class top 100.
Smith continued to rise up the rankings as he showed up and dominated at more camps. Every time Ivins watched Smith play, he left thinking, “How did he do that?”
“It’s been so many moments where you’re like, ‘Am I seeing this correct?” Ivins said.
Those moments are already happening at Ohio State. Smith’s first touchdown catch was on a fade route that he played perfectly. He got the correct body position, turned for the ball and made the contested catch look easy.
It was the same in the third quarter when Ohio State quarterback Will Howard threw a deep ball to Smith, who brought it down with one hand, through contact, completing a 45-yard play.
“Put it up and he’ll make the play,” Howard said. “That’s all I have to do is give him a chance and he’ll do the rest.”
He caught that with one hand 🤯
Jeremiah Smith continues to add to his impressive @OhioStateFB debut.#B1GFootball on CBS 📺 pic.twitter.com/c0NShHyWEW
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) August 31, 2024
Smith is a difficult matchup for most defensive backs because of his versatile skill set. Bruce Feldman ranked Smith No. 7 in his annual Freaks List before the freshman even played a game, reporting that Smith bench pressed 355 pounds, squatted 530, broad jumped 10-10 and his max speed was at 23.39 mph.
He’s such a physical anomaly that Ohio State strength coach Mickey Marotti told Goetz he hasn’t seen anybody like him.
“The only person who he said is close was Percy Harvin,” Goetz said.
Ivins likened his potential to what Julio Jones did his freshman year at Alabama, catching 58 passes for 924 yards and four touchdowns. Every strong performance is inevitably going to lead to more comparisons to former college stars, including those like Harrison, the Biletnikoff Award winner Smith is replacing, who came before him at Ohio State.
It’s a transition that virtual coaches in the College Football 25 video game dream of. It’s not often not possible in real life, but it is for the Buckeyes.
As Smith put on a show Saturday, former NFL quarterback Matt Leinart tweeted that Smith could be a top-10 NFL Draft pick right now. Harrison replied saying top-three instead.
3* https://t.co/Bn4jPa9TCp
— Marvin Harrison Jr. (@MarvHarrisonJr) August 31, 2024
The question no longer seems to be whether Smith will live up to the hype or when he will break out. After tallying the first two-touchdown debut game for an Ohio State freshman since 1996, the question for Smith is more about how high his ceiling can be.
“When you talk about being a top-five or top-10 pick, the sky’s the limit for him,” Goetz said. “He’s got the ability and the mental makeup to be an all-time great at that position, whether it’s college or the pros.”
Even though Smith is just one game into his freshman career, Ivins believes he has the potential to develop into someone worthy of being the No. 1 NFL Draft pick. The fact that this is even a conversation about an 18-year-old freshman who’s replacing a Heisman finalist is a testament to Ohio State’s roster building, as well as to Smith.
And now that Smith’s Ohio State career has begun, everybody will soon be hearing a lot more about the kid named “JJ,” who is sure to start turning heads across the country.
“His floor is the ceiling for 99 percent of the other football players,” Ivins said. “You know what you’re getting every single snap, every single rep. He’s the ultimate cheat code.”
(Photo: Ian Johnson / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
