Even though his brother is Ohio State’s biggest star, Angelo Smith had to earn his offer from the Buckeyes.
The younger brother of Jeremiah Smith left without an offer last summer after he camped at Ohio State as a wide receiver. Following an impressive camp as a defensive back last week, however, Angelo Smith received an offer from Ohio State and secondary coach Tim Walton.
Woww!! Extremely blessed to earn an offer from Thee Ohio State University pic.twitter.com/ZZGThIHvOy
— ANGELO SMITH (@AngeloSmithhhh) June 17, 2025
Having to come back and earn his offer this year made it all the more meaningful for Angelo to receive that offer, as it validated the hard work he’s put in to give himself a chance to play at the highest level.
“Getting an offer like that, it felt wonderful. I don't even know how to explain it, but I feel like I really put a lot of work into it and it wasn't just given to me,” Angelo told Eleven Warriors. “Knowing I'm his brother and stuff, people just think stuff’s supposed to be given to me … So knowing that I had to work for it to get it, it was a good feeling at the end of the day. It was a great feeling.”
While Jeremiah had emerged as one of the nation’s elite recruits going into his junior year at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School, Angelo’s recruitment has progressed more quietly. Ohio State was just the sixth school to offer him, joining Miami, Oklahoma State, Akron, Georgia State and Toledo. He’s rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 384 overall player in the 2027 class in 247Sports’ composite rankings.
A lot of that has to do with the difference in size between Jeremiah and Angelo. While Jeremiah has prototypical size for a wide receiver at 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Angelo is a smaller safety, currently measuring in at just 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds. But that’s just given Angelo more motivation to prove himself.
“He's a hard worker, but knowing my size and knowing that me and him don't got the same measurables of right now, I would say my hard work and the way I push myself every day,” Angelo said when asked what makes him different from his brother. “I'm not the biggest person in the world. It might be other guys that's bigger than me. So I feel like I just work at 10 times harder for everything, and that’s really what pushes me to be different.”
After camping at Ohio State in 2024, Angelo told Eleven Warriors that he thought he would be even better than his brother. He’s still striving for that, but he clarified on Tuesday that he’s not in competition with his brother.
“That’s definitely my goal, but there's really no competition me and him. We both talk every day. We were just on the phone before this,” Angelo said. “So just talking every day and he’s telling me things about Ohio State and like the group, so I think I just pick up things from him and just learn it every single day.”
“Knowing I'm his brother and stuff, people just think stuff’s supposed to be given to me … So knowing that I had to work for it to get it, it was a good feeling.”– Angelo Smith on earning his offer from Ohio State
It has been surreal, Angelo said, to see his older brother become the biggest star in college football. But he’s been impressed with how Jeremiah has handled the attention.
“I really think he's just used to it, but it's really like he's just getting better at it, going on to bigger stages,” Angelo said. “But he’s used to playing in big games, big everything, talking. So I really feel like he's getting better at it, but every day he's just getting better and things like that.”
Angelo says his brother’s immediate success as a freshman last year, which culminated with Jeremiah making a national championship-clinching 56-yard catch against Notre Dame, inspires Angelo to succeed himself.
“It inspired me a lot and I know it inspired a lot of other kids,” Angelo said. “Seeing he came in as a freshman, it probably inspired so much kids to want to come in and start as well.”
Jeremiah will likely be on his way to the NFL when Angelo enrolls in college in 2027, so it’s unlikely they would play together at Ohio State. Still, Angelo has thought about the possibility of continuing the family legacy in Columbus, especially now that he has an offer from the Buckeyes.
“Knowing he tells me things every day, definitely if I could get to choose Ohio State, I definitely would. That's one of my top schools right now,” Angelo said. “So just him being there and him telling me how things are, that would definitely be one of my top picks.”
Having spent plenty of time around Ohio State alongside his brother, Angelo is highly impressed with the program, considering it to be the best college football program in the country.
“I could tell you that isn't the best in the country – it is. Just seeing how the program is run and things like that, I would definitely say when it's all said and done, Ohio State will be one of my top schools to pick from,” Angelo said. “It's just a great program. Any kid in the country would want to go there.”
Angelo is also excited by the possibility of being coached by Walton.
“He's an inspiring coach. He's going to tell you when you're wrong, when you're right, he’s just going to tell you,” Angelo said. “So being around a coach like that that’s really just going to keep pushing you; if you're wrong, he's going to get on you, because that's the type of coach he is. So I would say Coach Walt is definitely a great coach and I would love to learn from him and things like that.”
“Ohio State will be one of my top schools to pick from ... Any kid in the country would want to go there.”– Angelo Smith on Ohio State
While the younger Smith was initially uncertain whether he’d play wide receiver or defensive back at the next level, Angelo says he’s now focused on playing safety in college, believing that’s the position that gives him the best chance at long-term success.
“Seeing where I was better at with my measurables and stuff like that, I felt like defensive back was a better position for me, safety. It was just a better position for my future,” Angelo said. “Really just the way that you could read the field and you're basically like the quarterback of the defense, so making reads, making calls, doing all that, it's just special because you're the leader of the defense. So I love it.”
Angelo says Miami and Georgia State are among the other schools recruiting him heavily right now and that he expects to make a college decision sometime after his junior season. Ultimately, Angelo says his decision will come down to which school he believes has the best plan for developing him as a player.
“A program who's going to teach me a lot of things when I first get there. A program that's willing to put time with me, willing to build on me, willing to take a chance with me, that's really going to be the school that I'm going to pick when it's all said and done,” Angelo said.
