This is the final college football season for Jeremiah Smith, as he confirmed at Big Ten Media Days. But he has already checked off the kind of milestones most college players could only dream about. Freshman records, national championship, future first-round NFL buzz. Now the assignment has changed. Ryan Day made it clear this week that Ohio State expects something bigger from him than on-field magic.

“When you start the recruiting process, you have a young man who came in about as ready as anybody physically,” Ryan Day said while speaking to WBNS 10TV during Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. “But it’s more than just your physical ability.

“He’s grown up emotionally. He’s going through these experiences. He’s won a national championship. He’s done a lot of things in a short period of time. And I think for Jeremiah, he has an impact on a young generation. They all look up to him. He’s like a cult hero.”

Jeremiah Smith has thousands to millions of fans across the country after breaking records in just two seasons at Ohio State. He has piled up 163 catches for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns, all Big Ten records at this stage of a career. He also sits within striking distance of Ohio State’s all-time receiving marks, needing just 43 receptions, 341 yards and nine touchdown catches to rewrite the school’s record book. 

With that comes responsibility, and according to Ryan Day, the biggest one right now is leadership. Jeremiah Smith has never been the loudest voice in the room. He’s naturally reserved and has usually let his play do the talking. This offseason, though, teammates and coaches have noticed that he’s speaking up more, taking ownership of the offense, and understanding that younger players are watching every move he makes.

“It’s his responsibility now to step up and to be a leader and make sure that he knows everybody’s watching him,” Ryan Day added. “So that’s gonna pay off for us and it will.”

Jeremiah Smith sounds fully aware of that challenge. At the Big Ten Media Days, he embraced the challenge that GOATs like Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James do. 

“I’m trying to make everybody around me better,” he said. “That’s what all the greats did. That’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to leave the jersey better than I found it.”

Those aren’t empty words when you look at what he’s already accomplished. The individual awards are still out there, too. Jeremiah Smith admitted he’s chasing both the Heisman Trophy and the Biletnikoff Award this fall, but those ambitions don’t appear to have changed the bigger picture.

New receivers coach Cortez Hankton, who arrived from LSU this offseason, called Jeremiah Smith a “generational talent.” But what impressed him most had nothing to do with athletic ability. The coach praised the WR’s willingness to be coached every single day, something that separates elite prospects from players who simply rely on talent.

Ohio State already knows what Jeremiah Smith can do with the football in his hands. This season, Ryan Day is asking him to prove he’s just as valuable when the ball isn’t coming his way.