Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith caught a spectacular 56-yard pass from quarterback Will Howard in Monday's national championship game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to finish the game as a contest in the 34-23 win. Smith registered 88 yards on five receptions resulting in one touchdown to complete a stunning freshman season.
After revealing that he wants to win more national championships in Columbus during his postgame news conference, reports by On3 analyst Pete Nakos on Friday revealed that the wide receiver was the subject of a mind-boggling offer.
According to Nakos, Smith has a $4.5 million NIL offer to enter the transfer portal from an unnamed school alongside his Ohio State teammate, wide receiver Carnell Tate, who is the subject of a $1 million offer.
College football fans on X had mixed reactions to the news of Smith's offer.
"You call it tampering, I call it karma. You will receive what you have dished out 😎," one fan said.
Some fans had ideas on which team the 'unnamed team' was.
"Jeremiah to Miami," one fan said.
"Both are going to the Longhorns! They want to play for a real QB next season," another fan said.
"Good to see Miami and Oregon still not being able to develop their own players," one fan said.
Analyst has controversial advice for Jeremiah Smith in the portal
Jeremiah Smith is the jewel in Ohio State's roster after losing veterans like quarterback Will Howard, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and running back TreVeyon Henderson to the NFL via the draft. Losing Smith to the transfer portal would be a nightmare scenario for the Buckeyes.
During Wednesday's segment of the "Paul Finebaum Show," ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum had a controversial view of what Smith should do next since he cannot leave college football for the NFL just yet.
"I think at this point Jeremiah Smith will probably stay there," Finebaum said. "Why would he want to go somewhere else? He's at the best college football program in the country at the moment. He likes the coaches.
"I think Jeremiah Smith should not go to another school," Finebaum said. "I'll tell you what he ought to do: hire the best lawyer in the country, sue the NCAA, and get out of this deal that restricts him from leaving for two more years. That, to me, is the issue, not how much more money he could make. He's losing tens of millions every day by not being able to go to the NFL."
Keeping the national championship-winning roster together in Columbus was always going to be a challenge for coach Ryan Day and opponents have wasted no time in going after the crown jewel, Jeremiah Smith.
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