A strange face walked out to return one of Texas' four punts in Ohio State's season-opener.
Not strange in the sense that he was unfamiliar, he is, in fact, the Buckeyes' biggest star. But strange in the sense that returning punts isn't typically in his job description, perhaps because he is such a bright star.
The player was Jeremiah Smith. He fair caught a 52-yard punt off the foot of Longhorn punter Jack Bouwmeester, but Smith's usage in the position raised eyebrows nonetheless. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said on his weekly radio show Monday that it won't be the last time he gets a chance to return punts in 2025.
"He'll continue to have an opportunity to be back there because we think that he gives us something back there, as you can imagine, when the ball is in his hands," Day said. "We'll figure out game plan-wise when he's going to be back there. And we'll keep working on giving him an opportunity and working and grinding to make sure that the guys on the return team (set him up well)."
Day gave the indication that Smith was very close to not fair catching the ball and instead returning it with a lot of space. The sophomore's speed, shiftiness and strength all make him a weapon in the open field, so if the Buckeyes are comfortable with the injury risk, it makes sense to place him back there on occasion.
"If we had held up just a little bit longer and given him a chance to return that, we were in a pretty good position there," Day said with a sigh. "We were trying to keep it sort of quiet that he was getting some of that work back there."
Day also indicated that Brandon Inniss, who lined up at punt returner for Texas' other three punts and fair caught two of them, and Caleb Downs will continue to rotate with Smith as returnmen.
"When you have guys like Brandon Inniss and Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith back there, the entire unit believes that they can return it," Day said. "They believe that it can turn into points and change field position. So we're going to keep working like crazy to give these guys a chance."
It's part of a team-wide effort for elite special teams for the Buckeyes in 2025.
"Special teams, we really want to be an advantage for us," Day said. "I think we have complete buy-in on our team. I think everybody understands, and we say this all the time, the best players who've come through Ohio State football have been really good special teams players."
