Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith Chases Heisman With New Records
The junior wide receiver leads the nation in receiving stats but faces a new challenge with freshman quarterback Luke Fahey.
By Amina Yusuf ·
Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State is pursuing the Heisman Trophy while breaking multiple program and conference records during his junior campaign.
The 6-foot-4 wide receiver has set new benchmarks for the Buckeyes and the Big Ten Conference. He holds the all-time school records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. His 40 career receiving touchdowns also surpassed the Big Ten’s conference record this season.
Smith’s statistical dominance began in earnest on Sept. 19 when he surpassed Michael Jenkins as the program’s all-time receiving yardage leader. One week later, on Sept. 26, he set career highs against Illinois with 12 receptions, 217 yards, and four touchdowns. He secured the remaining program records on Oct. 3 against Iowa, finishing that game with 11 catches for 206 yards and two scores.
The path to the award has become more complex since Oct. 17. Starting quarterback Julian Sayin, a 2025 Heisman finalist, suffered an injury during the fourth quarter of a 19-15 win over Indiana. Ohio State replaced him with freshman Luke Fahey. In Fahey’s first start on Oct. 31, Smith recorded 10 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown in a 30-18 loss to the University of Southern California.
ESPN senior writer Adam Rittenberg compared Smith’s current pace to that of Devonta Smith, who won the Heisman in 2020. Rittenberg noted that Smith has outpaced the 2020 winner in catches and yards through eight games while also scoring more touchdowns. "I don’t know if we’ll look back in 10 or 15 years to the period where Devonta Smith played and say, ‘Oh my God, do you remember how good he was?’ I do believe we’re going to look back at what Jeremiah Smith has done in less than three seasons at Ohio State," Rittenberg said.
Head coach Ryan Day stated that Smith prioritizes team performance over individual recognition. Day said, "He wants to have an impact on the game, he also knows sometimes when there’s three guys covering him or whatever they do to take them away, the other guys need to step up, and so he’s not pointing, he’s not blaming fingers, he just gets frustrated like we all do and he’s the ultimate competitor."
Smith currently sits third in Big Ten program receiving yards with 3,625, needing 164 more yards to break the conference record. He leads all of college football in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns since 2024.
Smith was named the best football player and best male athlete in The Lantern’s 2026 Best of OSU edition, receiving a combined 914 votes from students and community members. He faces four remaining regular-season games to prove his consistency with the new quarterback.
