Latest news with #JeremiahSmith
USA Today
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Ohio State football receiver Jeremiah Smith's rating revealed in 'College Football 26'
Ohio State superstar receiver Jeremiah Smith is going to be ranked as an overall 99 ranked player in EA Sports' popular "College Football 26" franchise, the game's first 99 ranked player since EA Sports brought the college football game back last season. Smith is highly regarded as the best player in college football this coming season by many after introducing himself to the world as a superstar freshman last year. He hauled in 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, helping OSU to a run towards the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. The rating was revealed in the Dynasty & Team Builder Deep Dive. Smith was recently revealed to be on the cover of the game along with Alabama receiver Ryan Williams. The game comes out for everyone on July 10. Mark your calendars now. It's going to be a lot of fun watching Smith do his thing this year and see how he continues to develop over the next couple of years. It's crazy to think that he still has two years of college football left. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
17-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State football extends offer to younger brother of current Buckeye superstar
Ohio State football extends offer to younger brother of current Buckeye superstar He's still in school, and in fact will only be a sophomore, but Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith may already be the best pass catcher to ever wear the Scarlet and Gray. That's a bold statement for a guy who has only played one year in college, but the tape doesn't lie when you turn it on. He just polished off the best freshman campaign of any receiver to ever run out of the tunnel on the banks of the Olentangy. He has a rare blend of work ethic, size, hands, speed, and body control that only comes around maybe once in a generation. But wait. If these sorts of things run in the family because of family genetics, then maybe there's another "generational" receiver on the way. On Tuesday, the Buckeyes offered Smith's younger brother, Angelo Smith because, well -- maybe the fruit doesn't fall far from the Buckeye tree. Out of the same high school as his brother, Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, Florida, Smith is still making a name for himself. He's listed as an athlete, but is currently a safety playing in South Florida and has yet to really garner the attention of the major recruiting services. In fact, according to 247Sports, he is ranked as the No. 29 safety and 32nd prospect in the state of Florida as a 3-star recruit. It's still awfully early to get excited about anyone in the 2027 class, and it's not even clear if the younger Smith even likes it in Columbus and wants to play for the Buckeyes, but we'll continue to stay on top of his recruitment as things progress. Don't be surprised if his rankings start to climb after the OSU offer. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
16-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Get a look at former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard throw deep balls to youth campers
Get a look at former Ohio State quarterback Will Howard throw deep balls to youth campers Has there been a quarterback in Ohio State football history who made an impact on the fanbase like Will Howard? He said all the right things, showed passion and leadership, and it didn't hurt that his one year in the Scarlet and Gray resulted in a College Football Playoff national championship. On top of it all, he gets the big picture and has no problem giving back in the community. The latest example of that was seen this past weekend when he visited former teammate Jack Sawyer's youth camp in Pickerington, Ohio, to be a part of all the fun with some of the youth that made it out to the festivities. One of the funniest -- and cutest -- moments was captured on film by local Columbus CBS affiliate WBNS 10TV, Adam King when Howard huddled up with an offense of only receivers apparently and told them to go deep. Some funny comments about Jeremiah Smith ensued and Howard completed a pass to one of the myriad of youth receivers. In the huddle pre-snap, Howard tells the kids, "Everybody run into the end zone as fast as you can. Be like Jeremiah Smith, alright," said Howard. "But no catching with one hand," quipped one of the campers who found agreement among others. "Yeah, no catching with one hand because ... we're not Jeremiah Smith," Howard replied in agreement. The current Pittsburgh Steeler then lobbed a long pass that was caught and celebrated. Watch the short interaction below and let a little smile form in amusement. You have to love this. Howard will forever be a champion on and off the field. Don't bet against him doing some of the same things in Pittsburgh that he was able to do on the banks of the Olentangy once his NFL career begins to heat up. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Ohio State football named its 'Dudes of the Week' on Thursday
Ohio State football named its 'Dudes of the Week' on Thursday While the Ohio State football team isn't in the middle of fall training camp, it's still in and around the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex getting workouts in in preparation for breaking the seal on the start of camp. We've seen a flurry of activity from some of the "June Olympics" events and other things going on, so we know the team is still hard at work. For further proof that guys are still on the grind in summer, Ohio State will routinely announce its "Dudes of the Week." We're not quite sure what goes into being nominated, let alone winning the recognition, but you can bet it involves being an Alpha athlete in some way, shape, or form. For this week, the "Dudes of the Week" are none other than receiver Jeremiah Smith (is there a "Dude of the Year" award?), offensive lineman Austin Siereveld, and linebacker Garrett Stover. Congratulations to this trio for working hard. We're pretty sure it's not the last we've seen of any of them in the spotlight. Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.
USA Today
11-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Diversity in College World Series field reminds us what college sports is all about
Diversity in College World Series field reminds us what college sports is all about Show Caption Hide Caption Jeremiah Smith, Ryan Williams on cover of EA Sports College Football '26 EA Sports chose Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith and Alabama's Ryan Williams to be on the cover of College Football '26. We talk to the athletes about what this moment means to them. This week, with the approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement, college sports officially split into two. The power conference schools are going to pay their athletes, make their own rules and take the responsibility of enforcement and punishment from an NCAA that was never very good at it in the first place. Is there fear and resentment across the rest of the college sports landscape about where this is all headed? Of course there is. Schools at the lower end of Division I see a power grab led by the Big Ten and SEC and wonder if the clock is ticking on their conference's automatic access to NCAA championships and perhaps even a full divorce. To many folks in the smaller conferences, it feels like they're paying the price for a problem they didn't cause. But in a world where it increasingly feels like the new financial realities of the Big Ten and SEC are driving a land grab for postseason bids, starting with the College Football Playoff but undoubtedly trickling down to every sport in the future, this year's College World Series shows why some traditions are worth preserving. The eight teams that advanced to Omaha over the last few days represent seven different conferences: The SEC (LSU and Arkansas) The Big 12 (Arizona) The ACC (Louisville) The Big Ten (UCLA) The Sun Belt (Coastal Carolina) The Missouri Valley (Murray State) The Pac-12 (Kind of. Oregon State played as an independent this season but was crucial in the effort to resurrect a new Pac-12, which will begin play in the 2026-27 academic year.) Is such a huge conference spread a bit of an anomaly? Absolutely. In recent renditions of the CWS, you'll see a whole lot of SEC and ACC representation, some strong Big 12 and Pac-12 programs (before it imploded) and your occasional interloper from outside the power conferences. But this year's field underscores a very simple point that the SEC and Big Ten would be wise to remember as they go about the business of remaking college sports: At the end of the day, competition is what this is all about. And even if that means you come up on the short end some years, it's nothing to be afraid of. That's just sports. Though we can find a thousand things the NCAA has done wrong on its journey toward the professionalization of college sports, it did one thing that was really genius. In constructing its format for national championship tournaments, it ensured that all Division I conferences would be represented by an automatic qualifier. This means that when the men's basketball players at SIU-Edwardsville began last season, they could dream of playing in March Madness. Was there a realistic chance to win a national championship? Of course not. Were they even likely to win a game? Heck no. Were they better than dozens of basketball teams who missed the tournament? According to the computers, they weren't even in the top 200. But they won their conference, earned their moment on the big stage and got blown off the court by Houston. That's what usually happens. But every now and then, you get an upset everyone remembers. Either way, the possibility of that moment keeps those programs viable and those communities invested in college basketball. Overall, it's a pretty great system. Folks at those lower levels have good reason to wonder if they'll keep those automatic bids going forward, not just in basketball but a variety of sports. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, in particular, has made public comments that could be considered threatening to the notion of equal access regardless of conference size or strength. Meanwhile, there was talk a few weeks back that the SEC and Big Ten could be interested in a 16-team CFP format where they get four automatic bids each, with the ACC and Big 12 getting two apiece and one going to the top-ranked Group of Five champion. It seems as if that idea has subsequently died down. Even though the ACC and Big 12 locking in two bids each might have been tempting on the surface, formalizing an existence as second-class citizens would not have gone over well with those fan bases. If you were to construct the CWS on the same kinds of principles that the Big Ten and SEC have been flirting with this year in their CFP expansion discussions, you'd never have seven conferences involved like this year. And the reason it's such a timely development for college sports is that it should remind people in the industry why they do this in the first place. Everyone understands that a true level playing field is impossible, but competition is about more than revenue on a spreadsheet. And when it comes to the structure of Division I, giving an automatic bid to every conference underlines that they are partners in an enterprise whose mission is to deliver a good product – even if a lot of those partners can't stack up competitively to the mighty SEC. You can't deliver as good of a product for the sport – the entire sport – by stacking the deck and using historical performance to engineer future outcomes in your favor. You can only do it by making the postseason possibility available to everyone and letting the chips fall where they may. Even in a more complicated and professionalized world, you don't need to apologize for the outcome when you just let sports do its thing.
