Talking about the pressure of college football programs? For Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes, it’s 10x more. After all, they carry the burden of defending national champions. But there is no reason to fear when the rivals and your roster constantly challenge each other. Day and Buckeyes are running with a 7-0 clean sheet. Their WR, Jeremiah Smith, had been a major contributor to this. While Smith is going full throttle with max confidence, his mate is trying to overstep him. Now, who is this threat?

On October 23, amidst the Buckeyes’ practice, Big Ten Football thought of doing a fun activity. Players were hit with one question, “Who could you beat in a 40 yd dash?” When the mic came to Smith, the wide receiver seemed confident of being the best boy in the Ohio State squad, “Who can I beat on the team? I’m just gonna say everybody.”

The mic kept traveling from player to player, and guess what? Nobody dared to challenge Smith until it was defensive end Eddrick Houston’s turn. 

He started with a list of the Buckeyes players he would love to defeat: “Oh, Eric Mensah, Dominic Kirks. We’re gonna keep going Julian Goines-Jackson.” Houston then casually dropped, “Jeremiah Smith,” followed by an eye-roll and a facial expression that clearly conveyed the feeling that he had just made a risky move and invited some trouble.

Smith has 49 receptions for 602 yards and seven touchdowns in eight weeks this season. Talking about Smith’s capabilities to challenge everyone in the 40-yard dash challenge? Not to forget, Smith hit a record earlier after running at a maximum speed of 23.5 mph. He gained the tag “No.1 freak” from The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman. Meanwhile, Houston has a 79 speed rating and a 90 acceleration rating on ‘EA SPORTS™ College Football 26. One can say it’s a no-contest. Probably Houston can match the first few paces, but Smith would leave him to dust after if they race.

Back in August, the annual Freaks List highlighted jaw-dropping athleticism. Smith led the pack after just one season in Columbus, still not even 20. And how did Feldman find Smith to be so impressive?

He performed 20 reps on the bench of 225 pounds, with Smith telling Feldman he could only hit five of those before he got to Ohio State. An 11-foot broad jump, followed by a 38-inch vertical jump, and a speed of 23.5 miles per hour via GPS measurement. Talking about stamina? Smith left no doubt. But now you know why he flies across the gridiron.  

Big things await Jeremiah Smith

Smith walks through the 2025 season with impressive stats. 22 receiving touchdowns in his career. That trend picked up some Big Ten attention. Looks like Smith will have to beat a legend to sit at the top of the B1G conference records. Right now, Braylon Edwards is enjoying the throne, holding a record of 40 receiving touchdowns.

If Smith finishes near 30 career scores this season, his shot at overtaking Edwards for the Big Ten’s all-time lead by 2026 looks real. But that’s not the only goal that Smith is running after. The Heisman Trophy is also on the wide receiver’s bucket list. The latest ESPN BET Heisman odds suggest Smith at +3500. However, his path won’t be easy. 

On October 2, College Football Report came up with a tweet about players’ chances to win the Heisman race. Smith happened to be the odd one on that list, being the only wide receiver among the quarterback crowd. “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.

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But looks like his teammates aren’t ready to write him off yet. Even though the 40-yard dash challenge happened to be light-hearted, in reality, the Ohio State Buckeyes play as one united force. “Whatever you want to do to take me out, Carnell Tate is gonna k— you, the run game is gonna k— you, the tight ends are gonna k— you,” said Jeremiah Smith. One thing’s sure, the wide receiver rides for his crew, and they ride for him.