Jeremiah Smith doesn’t remember the first time he lost in an athletic endeavor. But he can predict how he reacted to it.
“I'm a sore loser, so I know I took it the wrong way,” Smith said at Big Ten Media Days on July 22. “I don't like losing. I like to win at any and everything that I do.”
That’s been Smith’s entire life. He wants nothing more than to win. At everything. And he’s done a lot of it.
Fresh off a freshman season where he became the biggest star in college football and won a national championship with Ohio State, Smith enters his second year with expectations of even greater achievements.
“He’s gotten bigger, stronger and faster than he was last year,” Ryan Day said at media days. “He was at workouts the other day and Mick constantly says during our warmups, he’s the first guy every time we run through and we’re warming up. The first guy. Every single time. He just sets such a standard, and you don’t need to motivate Jeremiah, and what he did as a freshman speaks for itself.”
South Florida products Binjimen Victor and Johnnie Dixon were major parts of Brian Hartline’s first two elite position rooms after he took over as the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach in 2018, but in 2025, his unit has never featured more South Florida flavor. Smith, fellow returning star wideout Carnell Tate and projected starter Brandon Inniss all played high school football in the lower half of the Sunshine State.
Inniss especially shares Smith’s competitive fire, named as the offense’s biggest trash talker by Caleb Downs at media days. Smith, Inniss and Tate all played for the same South Florida Express 7-on-7 team, though Tate moved to Florida in high school after growing up in Chicago. Smith traces his competitive edge to his upbringing.
“I'm from South Florida,” Smith said. “Competition is really big where we're at. We're competing in any and everything that we do. It could be little small things, like anything. Like, Just shooting something in the garbage can. We compete about stuff like that. I just feel like being from South Florida just made me who I am today.”
Losses still haunt Smith. He promised not to lose to Michigan again in his remaining two years at Ohio State. The controversial offensive pass interference call against him that pushed the Buckeyes out of field goal range with 28 seconds left in their eventual 32-31 loss to Oregon midway through last season was still on his mind as he saw his trainer back home this summer. Of course, he got his revenge with a 187-yard Rose Bowl performance against the Ducks.
“I was talking to my trainer when I was down in Florida last week about it, he said it was a pass interference,” Smith said. “I just laughed, I was like, ‘OK, it is what it is.’ But I definitely still think about that stuff. We played in the Rose Bowl, I just played with that edge, like, ‘OK, y’all took that game away from us, y’all cannot take this game away from us this time.’ That’s why I feel like I played the way I played.”
It’s hard to envision for a player who collected 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns – the sixth, fourth and second-most ever in a season by a Buckeye – but there are new stratospheres for Smith to break through in 2025. Not only will he be even freakier physically after an offseason sculpting his body with strength and conditioning coach Mick Marotti, but he’s also not dealing with the learning curve of a new playbook as he was last year.
“I know what defenses are doing this year coverage-wise,” Smith said. “I understood a couple last year, but do it better this year. I feel like I’m going to be able to play faster than I did last year. Last year, I wasn't playing as fast as I wanted to. But this year, I know exactly what's going on, and I'm going to play faster this year.”
Smith’s competitive kindling fuels his greatness. That and a dose of humility to remind him there’s constantly something to work on.
“I come from humble beginnings,” Smith said. “My dad always told me don't brag about the things that you're doing or the things that you've got. So, I mean, I'm blessed to be here. Blessed, I had a great season last year, but I can't let that one season get to my head. I mean, a lot of people would let a great season, great freshman year get to their head or start smelling theirself, thinking they’re all that. But me, I don't think that way. I always feel like I'm looking for something to improve on, always.”
As he takes the next step on the field that feels unfathomable, the sophomore is trying to step up his leadership as Ohio State’s biggest star. Day said he’s always been an example for others, but now it’s just about strengthening his voice.
“It’s been a pretty big challenge,” Smith said. “I’m not a vocal guy, I’m a guy who leads by example. So it's been pretty challenging for me. Coach Mick challenges me a lot to open up and say things. I mean, it's starting to get (me) more out of my shell.”
Day gave a quick “yeah” last week when asked if Smith could be a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL. The Buckeyes are thankful to have his competitive self around the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for two more seasons.
“Yeah,” Day said. “But I think the rule is in place for a reason. He's 19 years old and so there's still a lot of growing that needs to happen and maturity that has to happen, but yeah, his talent, it's pretty remarkable. (...) I think at his age, he's further along than anybody I've ever been around.”
