Jeremiah Smith always dreamed of playing college football at Alabama, but the Crimson Tide didn't follow through.
During his interview session at Big Ten Media Days, Smith revealed Alabama was his dream school growing up in Miami Gardens, Florida.
"Growing up, my dream school was Alabama when Nick Saban was there. They wasn't recruiting me, though,” Smith said. “It is what it is, but I always wanted to go to Alabama."
Alabama had become a destination for several South Florida stars before Smith. He pointed to Amari Cooper (2012 four-star), Calvin Ridley (2015 five-star) and Jerry Jeudy (2017 five-star) as examples of elite wide receivers from the area who played in Tuscaloosa.
But it wasn't in the cards for Smith. He said his early commitment to Ohio State caused Alabama to bow out of his recruitment long before signing day.
"I think I committed to Ohio State too early," he said. "That's why they stopped. They thought there was no chance."
Alabama's decision to move on was probably the right one. Smith committed to Brian Hartline's program in the 2024 recruiting class, and by that point, Hartline had already sent Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr. to the NFL. Emeka Egbuka was nearing the end of his college career, and Carnell Tate was beginning his ascent toward becoming a top-five NFL draft pick. It would have taken an extraordinary recruiting effort for the Crimson Tide to pull Smith away from the Buckeyes.
The decision worked out for Smith, too. Saban retired after the 2023 season, and Ohio State went on to add Alabama transfers Seth McLaughlin, Caleb Downs and Julian Sayin. Smith, meanwhile, emerged as one of the nation's top receivers as a freshman while helping the Buckeyes win the 2024 national championship, and he enters 2026 as arguably the best player in college football.
