Going into his sophomore year at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School, Jeremiah Smith had a standout performance at an Ohio State high school football camp that earned him his offer from the Buckeyes.
Four years later, another rising sophomore wide receiver from Chaminade-Madonna was one of the stars of Ohio State’s final high school football camp of 2025.
Even at a camp loaded with high-end recruiting talent like 2026 target Jerquaden Guilford, 2027 five-star Kesean Bowman and Eric McFarland, the potential No. 1 receiver in the 2028 class, Peter Pierre stood out physically among his peers inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center last Tuesday. Already 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds entering his sophomore year of high school, Pierre was one of the tallest wideouts who camped at Ohio State all month and he demonstrated that he has good speed and quickness to go along with that size.
Pierre also stood out as perhaps the most sure-handed receiver who camped at Ohio State all month, catching just about every ball that came his way and plucking throws out of the air with clean grabs away from his body.
While it would be a stretch to say that Pierre – or any wide receiver prospect in any class, for that matter – is as good as Smith, he actually received an offer from Ohio State earlier than Smith did. Perhaps in part due to the spotlight that Smith brought to his high school, Pierre received his offer from Ohio State in January after his freshman season with the Lions.
Pierre has already received 17 offers from Power 4 schools, also holding offers from Auburn, Florida State, Indiana, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Missouri, N.C. State, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and Washington. While the major recruiting websites haven’t yet released their first ratings for the 2028 class, Pierre looks like a strong candidate to follow in Smith’s footsteps and become a five-star recruit based on his offer list and his impressive camp showing in Columbus.
And it’s very possible Pierre could also follow in Smith’s footsteps by playing his college football at Ohio State.
Ohio State was one of the first schools to offer Pierre, and he’s already seen Ohio State offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline – who’s also recruiting his teammate, 2026 five-star running back Derrek Cooper – at his high school multiple times. Pierre is appreciative of the Buckeyes’ early interest, which is one reason why he made Ohio State one of just three schools he camped at this summer, along with Oregon and Tennessee.
“I wanted to camp at those three schools because they jumped on me early, and I really like all three,” Pierre said.
Pierre says he has a “great” relationship with Hartline, who he described as a “funny guy.” And he felt he “learned a lot” from Hartline at last week’s camp.
“He's a very hyper guy,” Pierre said. “He really helped me. He's pushing me on everything, and I really want to work with him a lot more.”
Pierre plans to return to Ohio State for a game this fall. He says he’d be at the Ohio State vs. Michigan game if The Game was being played in Columbus this year, but he wants to attend a game at the Shoe after gaining a favorable impression of Columbus during his first trip to the 614.
“Columbus seems very fun. I’d definitely like to get back up here,” Pierre said. “I like it a lot. I really like how the fans are really in tune. The coaches are all funny, very talkative guys. I really like it up here.”
While Pierre has plenty of time before he’ll need to make a college decision, the two biggest things he says he’ll be looking for in a school are things that Ohio State’s program under Ryan Day has been known to offer, especially for wide receivers coached by Hartline: Development and a family atmosphere.
“I'm just looking for a home,” Pierre said. “Looking for people that treat family like family, very family-oriented.”
He’ll have good reason to keep watching Ohio State closely for at least the next two years as he’s drawn inspiration from watching an alumnus of his high school become the biggest star in college football following a sensational freshman season for the Buckeyes last year.
“It's very inspiring knowing that we come from the same state, same school, same area,” Pierre said of Smith. “It's really, really pushing me, it's really like motivation.”
Pierre currently plays with Smith’s younger brother, Angelo Smith, who received an offer from Ohio State at last week’s camp as a safety. He’s also friends with two other major Ohio State targets in his class, McFarland and quarterback Neimann Lawrence, which led to all of them camping at Ohio State together last week.
“Coming up here with my guys Neimann and Eric and Angelo, it was very fun coming up here,” Pierre said. “Them boys are funny, they’re my guys.”
Pierre is one of six wide receivers in the 2028 class who have received early offers from Ohio State along with McFarland, fellow Florida product Brysen Wright, North Carolina wideout Braylon Clark, Texas receiver Damarion Mays – who received his offer at last week’s camp – and Jett Harrison, the younger brother of former Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Jr.
