Jeremiah Smith didn’t expect to start his sophomore season this way. Last season, he torched college football as a true freshman with 76 catches, 1,315 yards, and 15 TDs. He entered 2025 with a Heisman campaign to launch and a dynasty to defend. Instead, he walked off the field in Austin frustrated, slowed, and more human after Ohio State’s narrow 14-7 win over Texas. 

The word “frustration” is no speculation. It came straight from Jeremiah Smith’s mouth. Asked by reporters about his sideline emotions, he made a raw admission in a video posted by Eleven Warriors on September 24. “The last game I was frustrated [with] was probably Texas,” he said. “They had them two drops. I was frustrated as well because we couldn’t finish in the red zone, and then the fade ball, I feel like I could have caught that ball Julian put in the right spot. So I feel I got to come down with that.” In one honest confession, he made it clear that his mistakes bothered him as much as they bothered Buckeyes fans. Because while Ohio State survived, he didn’t thrive.

The usually automatic wideout doubled his entire freshman drop tally in the first quarter alone. Two easy catches slipped through his hands, killing momentum and denting confidence. By the end of the night, Jeremiah Smith’s line looked unrecognizable: six receptions, 43 yards, zero touchdowns. Forgettable for most, unthinkable for the guy chasing the Heisman. So what happens when the cleanest hands in football suddenly turn slippery?

Jeremiah Smith’s body language told the story before his stat sheet did. Each miss brought sideline stares, slumped shoulders, and the rare glimpse of a star wrestling with his own standards. This wasn’t the guy who shredded secondaries in 2024. Texas’ DBs blanketed him, the Longhorns’ game plan clearly designed to jam timing with Julian Sayin. Fans came expecting fireworks. Instead, they left with sparklers. Yet even in the quiet night, one truth remains. One game doesn’t erase a resume. Jeremiah Smith is still the standard. And the Heisman race still has his name in the thick of it.

Jeremiah Smith is still ahead in the Heisman race

Jeremiah Smith’s frustration after Week 1 caught the attention of media voices. Former CFB coach Urban Meyer threw perspective into the mix on The Triple Option. “In the first start against that defense… he’ll learn. Week five, six, he’ll start to figure it out,” he said. In other words, patience. The wideout isn’t Superman. He’s an elite player still adjusting to a new rhythm with a new QB.

Through three games, Jeremiah Smith has totaled 20 catches for 315 yards and three touchdowns. Solid numbers, but not yet the gaudy stat lines voters drool over. Still, oddsmakers respect the ceiling. The Buckeyes’ WR sits at +1100 for the Heisman, trailing Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza (+850) but level with Miami’s Carson Beck and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

And even after the Texas hiccup, Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin have shown flashes of elite chemistry. That fade drop may haunt the receiver now, but history suggests he’ll flip frustration into fuel. And when he does, the rest of college football should brace itself.