Why is Jeremiah Smith the most explosive WR? Of course, he had the talent, a 5-star rating, and a dominant high school track record. He was further pushed by the strength of the Buckeyes own secondary, which had names like Caleb Downs, Lathan Ransom, and Denzel Burke.  But after these players departed, Smith will still have his work cut out.

Devin Sanchez, an elite cornerback set to step into the shoes of his departing seniors, did cause some trouble for Smith at practice. Though his 15 total tackles in 2025 were modest at best, late in the season, he showed what he was capable of with flashes of brilliance. Coming to seal the starting outside corner role, Smith might have met his match in Sanchez.

The CB posted a picture on his IG story on March 29, which captured him marking Smith and intercepting a pass meant for the WR at spring camp. He captioned it as “on all bulls— whoever” and highlighted it with a thumbs down emoji. The picture is a testament to Sanchez’s desire to excel this year. By going after the best in the business, he’s also made his case for a leadership role, too. Another practice video showed him setting off behind Smith, who ended up dropping a catch.

Devin Sanchez comes with athleticism in his DNA. His mother was a 200 and 400-meter sprinter at UTEP, and his father played football for the program. Not to mention, Sanchez Sr. still coaches high school athletes in the Houston area. That quality and legacy finally propelled Devin to national prominence, and he became the top-ranked CB in the 2025 recruiting class with consistent performances. Despite his limited showing in the 2025 season, he made that time count.

.

The CB stepped in for Lorenzo Styles Jr. when he was injured. He was a rookie, but finished with the third-most snap count among cornerbacks. And now, with the secondary losing its biggest stars, he is next in line to start opposite Jermaine Matthews Jr. But the young star took notes from Jeremiah Smith, which he will keep in mind when he lines up opposite opponent WRs.

“What he did last year as a true freshman, him being able to impact the team like that, obviously, I want that for myself,” Sanchez said last year in spring practices. “I’m gonna push myself to that limit. Try to be on the field in Year 1, that’s my plan. That’s the biggest reason I came here, because I have an opportunity to play Year 1. My having that opportunity is good.”

As much as Sanchez and Smith will frustrate each other in practice, they’ll both be the competition they need to grow. Smith has an even bigger responsibility entering his third season, leading a young WR room. He’ll need talents like Sanchez to toughen up before Ohio State begins its 2026 campaign.

Jeremiah Smith expresses frustration in spring camp

Jeremiah Smith was also a five-star in the 2024 class and quickly became a national sensation. He not only received for 1,315 yards that year but also led OSU to its first natty under Ryan Day’s tenure. The subsequent season was even better, but Smith had that constant winning mentality; that early playoff exit hurt him more because of how locked in he was during the season. The star WR made it clear to them that football isn’t a cakewalk because of his success. 

“Them guys came in [with] workman mentality and just been doing things the right way and just kept the hell down working,” Smith said about new players in the locker room yesterday. “So, respect them. [But] football is not easy. It’s not. I might make it seem a little easy, but it’s frustrating. Like today. I was frustrated today. I won’t say I had a bad day, but it was just frustrating out there for Julian and me. We just didn’t connect. It’s frustrating. It’s not easy.”

Even Jeremiah Smith has bad days. And it is through these bad days that he gets to have those good days. Smith, as a leader, reminded the young guns that lining up on the gridiron is a massive responsibility, and they have to cover a lot of distance to lay hands on the ultimate prize. They’ll have to adapt to that mindset to live up to the standards set by players like Smith.