FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt could not stop praising the Ohio State Buckeyes’ offense. According to him, Ryan Day’s offense is “suffocatingly good.” So, one can fathom the attention the unit is attracting. However, there is one player who’s been hogging the headlines. That’s none other than Day’s wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. How does the Heisman Trophy contender feel about being in the limelight 24/7 and protected? Here, Smith broke his silence.

On October 8, Delaware Gazette reporter Dillon Davis posted a clip of the wide receiver’s interview. He spoke to the press to address the attention he’s receiving and its implications for the rest of the Buckeye offense. The wide receiver attempted to shift the focus to his mates and showed his confidence. “Last week showed that we got another dominant receiver on the other side of the field. So, I mean, you can’t just worry about me now. You got to worry about Carnell Tate, you got to worry about Brandon Inniss, you got to worry about Max Klare, you got to worry about the tight end.”

Jeremiah Smith said, “So, I mean, it’s whatever you want to do, take me out. Carnell Tate’s going to k— you, the run game’s going to k— you, the tight end’s going to k— you.” Carnell Tate came off as Day’s surprise package, stealing the show against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Jeremiah Smith’s mate had all the eyes on him and was the Buckeyes’ leading receiver, hauling in nine receptions for 183 yards and one touchdown. And with this, Tate became Pro Football Focus’s highest-graded Big Ten wide receiver with an 86.6 grade.

Jeremiah Smith could not help but praise Brandon Inniss enough. Against Minnesota, he earned special teams player of the game honors after returning two punts for a total of 10 yards. But he turned into an attention magnet when he snagged the punt amid the third quarter and took multiple steps forward, only to uncork a cross-field dart to Lorenzo Styles Jr.

Not just the receivers. Jeremiah Smith also dragged in tight end Max Klare into the hype session. Day thinks that his phenom is “getting better and better.” Smith, too, keeps opponents on edge, taking Klare’s name. The Purdue transfer has been the most productive receiving tight end. His stats?

In five games in 2025, he conjured 11 receptions for 137 yards. However, enough of praising the other weapons. Going by Klatt’s comment, who is the one who throttles the most on offense? Has to be Jeremiah Smith. But the wide receiver’s Heisman dreams have hit a speed bump. 

Jeremiah Smith falls prey to a curse

With all the Heisman hype, it likely comes with pressure for Jeremiah Smith. The reason? Day’s wide receiver has set high expectations about ending the 19-year-old drought. The last time the Buckeyes could proudly boast a Heisman winner was when quarterback Troy Smith lifted the trophy in 2006. However, running the Heisman race, the wide receiver fell prey to a curse.

As we all must know, the Heisman trophy has always been kinder to quarterbacks. In Jeremiah Smith’s case, he seems to be the odd one out. Based on the College Football Report’s tweet on October 2, Smith is the only wide receiver in the group of 13 players on the list. “UPDATED Heisman Odds, via @Kalshi: Dante Moore – 15% 🏆Ty Simpson – 11% Carson Beck – 9% Jeremiah Smith – 7% Fernando Mendoza – 6% Trinidad Chambliss – 5% John Mateer – 5% Julian Sayin – 5% Joey Aguilar – 4% Marcel Reed – 3% Jayden Maiava – 3% CJ Carr – 3% Arch Manning – 3%,” read the tweet. History, too, has not been kind to wide receivers when it came to the much-coveted bronze trophy. 

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The two rare exceptions in the recent past have been DeVonta Smith in 2020 and Travis Hunter in 2024. Looks like Jeremiah Smith stands at the crossroads. Already, he’s been swarmed every time he steps out in public. Analyst Dov Kleiman could feel his pain as he tweeted a clip of Jeremiah Smith’s interview, where the wide receiver made a painful confession. 

“It’d be kind of hard, because I know I’d be, I like to go places and go out, so like Target, like shopping stuff, but I know being here, I can’t really do that. But yeah, it’s been pretty, pretty hard for me. Because, like I said, I like to go out and shop like that,” said the Buckeyes wide receiver.

At 19 years old, when the Buckeyes star is supposed to be a free bird, he thinks twice before going for a grocery run. The Heisman trophy might bring glory but will put Jeremiah Smith’s freedom at stake.