"He would easily be No. 1 pick in this year's draft": Dan Orlovsky ditches Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders for Ohio State standout

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is only a freshman, but he’s already drawing comparisons to some of the best to play the game. Smith torched the Oregon Ducks with seven receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns in the Rose Bowl in a 41-21 blowout win on Wednesday.

That performance inspired ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky to compare Smith favorably to any player entering the 2025 NFL draft during “Get Up” on Thursday morning. Orlovsky also had the Miami Gardens, Florida, native in some stellar company.

“He would easily be the first pick in this year’s draft," Orlovsky said. "You will have teams in two years, for that ‘27 draft tanking. He looks 6-5 just from hips on down. He reminds me of Julio Jones. His physical frame reminds me a little bit of Calvin Johnson.”

Because he is a true freshman, Jeremiah Smith can’t enter the NFL draft until 2027. He may have the talent to challenge for the Heisman as soon as next season.

For the 2025 NFL draft, Colorado’s Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders, as well as Miami’s Cam Ward, figure to be among the top players selected.

If Hunter decides to play cornerback in the pros, Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan, Missouri’s Luther Borden and the Buckeyes’ Emeka Egbuka look like the top wide receiver prospects at this point.

Smith has 70 receptions for 1,224 yards and 14 touchdowns this year. But his biggest impact has been in the postseason. Against Tennessee in the first round of the College Football Playoff, he caught six balls for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

His ability to get open and catch the football in traffic has been an important part of the Buckeyes’ success in their last two games.

While Jeremiah Smith has dazzled Dan Orlovsky and the football world in the CFP, he only got to the 100-yard mark three times during the season.

Jeremiah Smith’s historic performance at the Rose Bowl

Jeremiah Smith was already breaking records before the Rose Bowl. His 14 receiving touchdowns set a Big Ten freshman record. But it was his performance in Pasadena that will serve as his breakout moment.

The true freshman wasn’t close to Jaxson Smith-Njigba’s 347 receiving yards in Pasadena in 2022, but Pro Football Focus gave him a 94.6 grade, the highest-graded bowl game for a wide receiver since 2014, when PFF started scoring performances.

Doing that in just his 14th game at the college level speaks volumes of his talent and potential. Smith and the Buckeyes will now face the Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10 for a spot in the national championship game.