One of the brightest stars in college football is gearing up for another strong season, and he has a warning for those who believe changes for his program will affect how he plays. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who's led the Big Ten in receiving yards in both of his collegiate seasons, is set to play under a new offensive play caller for his third straight season. In 2024, the Buckeyes offense was directed by Chip Kelly, who's now the OC at Northwestern.
Last season, Brian Hartline led the offense, though he's now the head coach at South Florida. Now, former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith is taking over play calling duties for the 2026 season. Despite that tumult, don't expect anything different from Smith, he told reporters in video shared by Eleven Warriors.
That's the only thing that's different for real, for real," he said in an apparent joke. Smith then directly answered the question about how the Buckeyes will be different under Smith than they were under Hartline. "We've got a lot of different things we do in this offense with Coach Smith," he said.
"He found ways to get guys the ball, and it's all about the little things with Coach Smith. He's got plays on plays, and you're going to see a whole different offense this year than last year." The idea of a play caller providing even more opportunities for Smith is surely a terrifying one for the rest of college football. In his freshman season, he led the Big Ten with 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, and as a sophomore, he led the conference with 87 receptions and 1,243 yards, to go along with a dozen touchdowns.
So if Smith is indicating he'll be getting the ball even more, he stands a chance at catching 100 passes this season, and he'd likely have 1,200 plus yards and double-digit touchdowns again. Given that Smith and the Buckeyes won the national championship his freshman season and lost only two the two teams who faced off for the title last season, another strong campaign from him could contribute to another shot at a title for the Buckeyes.
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