Ohio State prepares for the Cotton Bowl against Miami, its first game with a new play caller. OSU’s head coach, Ryan Day, will be calling plays after Brian Hartline took up the USF head coaching job, and it’s going to be a new experience for the Buckeyes. With Day taking over additional powers, Ohio State’s wide receiver admits a change in the game plan against Miami.

While discussing the preparation for the Cotton Bowl, Jeremiah Smith stressed the change in approach during the long bye week compared to the Indiana game.

“We just have to come out with a different mentality,” said Jeremiah Smith on the December 29 media availability. “We didn’t really play our best offensively. In that game, we couldn’t score in the red zone and didn’t win the situations. So I feel like over the last couple of weeks we’ve been doing a good job at winning the situations and doing better in the red zone. So I feel pretty good about the game plan, and I’m very happy for this team.”

It seems like the head coach, Ryan Day, completely curated the gameplay after Hartline shifted his focus to the wide receivers during his transition. If you take a look at Day’s time as a play caller in previous seasons, it was more of a pass-centric gameplay. From 2017 to the 2022 season, Ohio State’s starting quarterback ranked among the national leaders in passing and touchdowns.

The 46-year-old has extensive play-calling experience as the program’s former OC under Urban Meyer, and he last handled calling plays in a playoff setting as Ohio State’s head coach during the Buckeyes’ 42-41 loss to Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl semifinal. Further, he has helped develop several high-end prospects at the position, including Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, Stroud, and Kyle McCord, before stepping away from exclusive play-calling.

“As we move forward, he’s coaching the receivers. It’s a lot on his plate to manage. We’re kind of taking it day to day. Going into the game, it’ll be a group effort. (Tight ends coach) Keenan (Bailey) will be very much involved. Everybody will be involved with the play-calling … ultimately, it’ll be my decision on the calls that go into this game. Kind of wanted to take that off Brian’s plate going into the playoffs,” Day said, who has not called plays in two years for the Buckeyes.

Under the guidance of Hartline in 2025, the Buckeyes ranked 17th nationally in scoring offense (34.9 points per game) while redshirt freshman quarterback Julian Sayin finished fourth in Heisman voting. Entering the Cotton Bowl quarterfinals against Miami, Sayin has thrown for 3,323 yards and 31 touchdowns as one of the nation’s most efficient passers.

With that being said, the play calling will be centered around the QB Julian Sayin and the wide receivers Jeremiah Smith or Carnell Tate.

“Our relationship has gotten better and better throughout each week of the season,” said Jeremiah Smith on Julian Sayin. “I just know that guy right there is going to put the ball in the right place, and I just have to make a play. I mean, he’s never really wrong. Julian is pretty special and probably the best quarterback I’ve played with.”

The duo posted 4,400+ yards and 42 touchdowns this season for the Buckeyes combined, and they would most likely be making more plays when they face Miami at the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

Jeremiah Smith was brutally honest about Miami

Ohio State vs. Miami is more than just a game for Jeremiah Smith. Coming from South Florida, it’s a game against the home team for Smith. The wide receiver addressed how it feels to be on the other side.

“It’s pretty special to me, going against my home team somewhere I’m from, Miami, and you know, I know a lot of guys on the team, have a good relationship with all of them, so you know, it’s pretty special for me,” said Smith.

Taking a step further, Smith admitted that he would have ended up playing for Miami if things had been on the right track, comparing the success rate the Buckeyes had over the Hurricanes. 

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“I probably would have ended up going to Miami if things had been on the right track then and there. But, you know, I chose to stick with Ohio State,” Smith said. 

Since 2016, Miami has only had limited success with an 80-46 record, which is comparatively much lower than that of Ohio State, which had a 115-16 record at the time. On the other hand, Miami didn’t achieve any major success in the postseason games, with a 2-8 record in both bowl and CFP games. The Buckeyes had an 8-12 record.

It would be interesting to see how Smith makes plays against his home team at the Cotton Bowl.