7x national champ Nick Saban details Ohio State’s star Jeremiah Smith’s importance for the national championship

Jeremiah Smith, a wide receiver for the Ohio State Buckeyes, has been a key part of their offense this season. The freshman has been strong all year, and this was seen again during the Buckeyes' Rose Bowl 41-21 win over the Oregon Ducks on Wednesday in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal.

Smith's importance to Ohio State was echoed by former Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, who won seven national championships during his illustrious career on Thursday's edition of "The Pat McAfee Show."

"When you have a mismatch player like that, when you got a go-to guy, and they can't guard the guy ... he's going to be making plays in critical situations," Saban said.

This season, Smith has recorded 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns from 70 catches.

His Rose Bowl performance was one of his best of the season. He Smith recorded a game-high187 yards with two touchdowns. Both scores came in the first half and were pivotal in building the Buckeyes' 34-8 halftime lead.

Having a player this reliable and talented is only going to help sixth-ranked Ohio State (12-2) in the next round. This will be against the fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns (13-2), a team whose defense is one of the country's strongest, in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10.

If Smith is able to dominate them as he did with Oregon and Tennessee, then Ohio State will have a strong chance at reaching the national championship game on Jan. 20.

An NFL executive praises Jeremiah Smith

It's not only Nick Saban who has been singing the praises of Jeremiah Smith. According to Fox Sports' Jordan Schultz, an unnamed NFL executive has also said good things about the young Buckeyes star.

Schultz reported that the executive said the following:

"He might be the most advanced receiver I've ever seen at that age. To be so young and so technically sound, then you add the physical tools and things get pretty freaky. Like some built-in-a-lab stuff."

The age of Smith has been something that Saban did not cover on "The Pat McAfee Show." Like Alabama's Ryan Williams (who has also had a good year), Smith is a freshman. So, he's likely to be playing college football for at least two more years.

In this time, Smith should only develop as a player. If he's already playing well and putting up senior-like numbers in his freshman year, one could only imagine how strong of a player he could be in a couple of years' time.

If he only improves, then Ohio State has a dangerous weapon on its hands.