Ohio State's Ryan Day marvels at WR Jeremiah Smith: "How big he is, how strong and powerful he is"

Ohio State freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith led the Buckeyes to a dominant 52-6 victory in the season opener against the Akron Zips on August 31, ensuring a strong start to the college football season. He registered 92 yards on six receptions, resulting in two touchdowns.

Beleaguered Ohio State coach Ryan Day was full of praise for Smith during his weekly news conference highlighting the qualities that make him such a special player.

“He's mature for his age. He's working really hard. Put another good week of practice in,” said Day (per Clutch Points). “How big he is, how strong and powerful he is. … This is someone, for a freshman, that is very physically mature."

Day also pointed out that there are areas of Smith's game that he still needs to polish.

“I mean just working and just continuing to get better. You know, there’s some things in that game that he (Smith) certainly, you know, wishes he had back but also had some good plays as well,” Day said (per On3). “There’s a lot to coach through there but he has got a great work ethic.”

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Jeremiah Smith continues Ohio State's tradition of talented wideouts

Jeremiah Smith was the No. 4 ranked player in the class of 2024 according to ESPN and the hype around him was palpable throughout recruiting season with Ohio State coach Ryan Day's reaction at landing his commitment going viral.

Jeremiah Smith continues a trend of talented wide receivers to have worn the Buckeyes jersey. In the past few years, Ohio State has produced Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson and most recently Marvin Harrison Jr., all of whom were picked in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Smith has built incredible chemistry with Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard who praised the freshman's talent during his Akron postgame news conference.

"If he's pressed and it's one-on-one, put it up, and he'll make the play," Howard said of Smith. (per 247 Sports) "And that's exactly what he did. I just saw he was pressed, so I tried to put it up over the top, and he actually made a little adjustment and came back to it. That's all I've got to do is give him a chance, and he's going to do the rest. You guys saw that today."

The Ohio State Buckeyes are strong favorites for the Big Ten championship and are fancied to be one of the teams to reckon with in the expanded 12-team college football playoff and going by his performances, Jeremiah Smith will be a big part of whether they can achieve those lofty targets.