Last Saturday afternoon the Ohio State Buckeyes began their 2024 season with a 52-6 drubbing of the Akron Zips. The season debut was highlighted by an outstanding offensive performance. The combination of quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith gave a lot for Buckeyes fans to look forward to in 2024. The freshman wide receiver had a stellar debut in Columbus Ohio. And the 2024 top recruit lived up to the billing and hype.

Jeremiah Smith was recruited last year from Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Hollywood Florida. Smith committed to play football to the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2024, he did this while having offers from Florida, Georgia, Florida State, Miami, and USC. He chose to go to Ohio State and contend for a national title. Smith also received the All-American Bowl Player of the Year Award in 2024. It is the award to the most outstanding high school football player in the country. The 6’3” 215 lbs. wide receiver was ranked as a 5-star recruit in 2024 and made an immediate impact in his first game as a Buckeye last Saturday.

In his first game of his college career against Akron the true freshman receiver had 6 receptions for 92 yards and 2 touchdowns. He was quarterback Will Howard’s favorite target the whole game. Even though Smith did drop the first pass thrown to him. Howard still had confidence in his top receiver and kept getting him the ball. That first drop was attributed to first game nerves. The young man was able to keep his composure and have himself an excellent debut game. We should all keep in mind that the competition for this game wasn’t the best in college football. But the game and the stats are still official. For a period during the game, Smith had more yards than the entire Akron offense. There is talk of Will Howard contending for a Heisman Trophy in 2024. Jeremiah Smith as a Heisman contender could be talked about as well in 2024 and beyond.