Smith continues historic rise in OSU record books
COVER PHOTO: OSU wide receiver Jeremiah Smith makes one of his six catches during their win over Purdue on Nov. 9 on the way to setting three of the school's major receiving records for a freshman. Picture by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
On Saturday, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught six passes for 78 yards and one touchdown in the second-rated Buckeyes’ 45-0 win over Purdue. The stats may not sound overly gaudy but they helped him officially break two more of the school’s freshman receiving records to become the leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
“Just to come in as a freshman and to be able to do something like this that hasn’t been done in a very long time, it’s a blessing for sure, I can’t thank the Man above enough,” he said after the game.
It was 1984, and a youngster from Middletown, Ohio was popping eyeballs with his amazing one-handed snags and toe-taps along the sideline to ensure the catch.
That guy’s name: Cris Carter, who would eventually set OSU’s freshman receiving record with 41 receptions for 648 yards and eight touchdowns.
Now 40 years later, Smith owns the record with 45 catches, 765 yards and nine receiving TD’s.
Smith was asked afterwards if he had heard from Carter and Smith said he didn’t know for sure but said that Carter had probably tagged him in a post on X. He was right.
https://x.com/criscarter80/status/1855317250544439504
Smith’s rise in the record books has obviously been historic but something that hasn’t been all too unbelievable.
The rookie collegian out of Chaminade-Madonna (Miami Gardens, Fla.) College Preparatory School came to Columbus, Ohio as one of the highest rated wide receiver recruits in program history. After enrolling early in January and taking part in offseason workouts and spring ball, the buzz surrounding him began to loudly hum after showcasing his skills.
And it didn’t hurt that he was gaining the support from his head coach throughout the spring who said that if Smith continued on the track he was on, he would probably find himself in a starting role come the fall. Although, Ryan Day also said in the same breath that he didn’t want to overhype Smith because he wanted to keep a level head on the freshman.
After Saturday’s game, Day mirrored that springtime sentiment.
“You guys have seen it and now he’s going to have to play his best, we’re in November now and all of those matchups are going to matter. But he’s getting stronger, he’s getting more experienced, he’s understanding coverages and different things … but great to see him break a record.”
Smith technically had already broken Carter’s yards record before Saturday’s game against the Boilermakers in their game against Penn State the weekend before. He needed only 26 receiving yards going into the matchup against the Nittany Lions and ended with 55 to bring his total to 678.
Heading into Saturday, he tied Carter’s receiving TD record in their game against Nebraska and needed a meager three receptions with one of them being a touchdown against Purdue to ensure those records would solely belong to him.
The record-breaking catch came early in the second quarter and wasn’t without some mild drama.
The Buckeyes were facing 3rd & 17 from their 40 yard line and quarterback Will Howard found Smith to the right side exactly 17 yards away. Smith made the catch but was immediately tackled and the refs felt Smith had crossed the line of gain and awarded OSU a fresh set of downs.
However, the booth called for a review and after taking a second look, they ruled Smith was actually a smidge short and brought up 4th & 1.
Howard punched it up the middle on a QB sneak the next play to extend the drive and they would cap it off with a 15-yard TD strike between Howard and tight end Gee Scott, Jr.
Smith’s record-snaring TD catch would be a little less dramatic.
The first half was coming to a close and OSU had the ball on Purdue’s 17 but facing yet another third down. Despite having two timeouts, the Buckeyes went no-huddle and with 30 seconds and counting, Howard found Smith break open to the right side on a drag route in man-to-man coverage.
At first Smith said he didn’t think the ball was going to him but admitted after pondering for a second that he knew Howard was going to toss it to him.
“I didn’t know the ball was coming to me… Well I did, actually. They were in man coverage so I knew the ball was coming to me so I just caught it and … made a touchdown.”
Smith continued to play aloof when asked what it was like to make the record-breaking grab, claiming he didn’t realize he was officially the owner of the record until they showed it for everyone in Ohio Stadium to see.
“At first, I didn’t even know ‘til I looked up … and they put it on the Jumbotron, and I wasn’t even thinking about it, that’s how crazy it was. But it was a great experience for me, for sure.”
That might sound silly but it speaks to the kind of humility the 19-year-old possesses. And even now that he’s the Scarlet and Gray’s all-time most prolific freshman receiver, he agrees with his head coach that he still has work to do and wants to continue to set an example for those around him both on and off the field.
“I have a little brother, I want to be an example for him as well, I don’t want to be a bad role model for him. So, you know, just work hard and everything I do in life, for sure.”
Here are the top five OSU receivers' freshman stats for each of the three categories:
Receptions
45 – Jeremiah Smith, 2024
41 – Cris Carter, 1984
33 – David Boston, 1996
30 – Garrett Wilson, 2019
25 – Ted Ginn Jr., 2011
Yards
765 – Jeremiah Smith, 2024
648 – Cris Carter, 1984
450 – David Boston, 1996
432 – Garrett Wilson, 2019
359 – Ted Ginn Jr., 2004
Touchdown Receptions
9 – Jeremiah Smith, 2024
8 – Cris Carter, 1984
7 – David Boston, 1996
5 – Garrett Wilson, 2019
4 – Ted Ginn Jr., 2003
Ohio State’s (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) next game is on the road against Northwestern (4-5, 2-4) and will be played at Wrigley Field. Kickoff is set for noon and the game will air on the Big Ten Network.