You probably already know a lot about Jeremiah Smith as a football player. Today at Eleven Warriors, we’re giving you a glimpse into who Ohio State’s superstar wide receiver is away from the football field.
Smith’s excellence on the gridiron is already well-known to anyone who’s paid attention to college football for the past two years, especially Ohio State fans. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound wide receiver immediately became one of college football’s biggest stars as a freshman, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during Ohio State’s national championship season in 2024. He backed that up by catching 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, earning unanimous All-American honors and his second straight Big Ten Receiver of the Year Award.
So when Eleven Warriors sat down with Smith for a one-on-one interview at Big Ten Media Days, we only asked a couple of questions about football – focusing on two of his most memorable moments from his first two years at Ohio State – before learning more about his life away from football, including his interests in chess and video games, along with his favorite meals, TV show and music.
We also asked Smith some superlative questions about his Ohio State teammates – namely, who he’d most and least want to be stranded on a desert island with, and who the Buckeyes’ funniest player is – and found out about some of his most exciting celebrity encounters as well as the person he most wants to meet.
IGB gave Smith his “Welcome to Ohio State” moment
Thinking back on when he first started his Ohio State career as a freshman in 2024, Smith said his “Welcome to Ohio State” moment came when he went head-to-head with former Buckeye cornerback Davison Igbinosun in practice for the first time.
“Welcome to Ohio State moment had to be one-on-one lined up against IGB. He jumped in my chest, jammed me pretty good. So that was probably my Welcome to Ohio State moment,” Smith said.
3rd-and-Jeremiah remains top on-field highlight
Smith’s favorite on-field moment from his first two seasons as a Buckeye won’t surprise you: His 56-yard catch on 3rd-and-11 to clinch Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame in the 2024-25 national championship game.
“My favorite moment gotta be 3rd-and-11 in the national championship game. Got to be that one, for sure,” Smith said.
A lowkey life away from football
As the biggest star in college football, Smith can’t go anywhere in Columbus without being recognized – which he admits can get tiresome, even though he appreciates all the support he gets from Buckeye fans.
“It's pretty crazy. I mean, everywhere I go, people notice me, want to take pictures. So it's pretty special that people know who I am and stuff like that,” Smith said. “After a while it gets old. I mean, since my freshman year, before I even stepped on the field, even played a snap, people were asking for pictures and bombarding me anytime I go out, so it's pretty old at this point.”
As such, Smith usually spends his time relaxing at home when he has a day off from football.
“Video games, watching shows, not really doing too much, for real,” Smith said when asked what his favorite off-day activities are. “Just enjoying my time in the house, because I'm barely home, so just enjoying my time in the house.”
Days off are about to be few and far between for Smith and his Buckeye teammates as Ohio State prepares to start preseason camp on Thursday. That said, Smith tries to take advantage of the opportunity to rest and decompress when he has downtime.
“Yeah, for sure, definitely,” Smith said. “Get my mind off of football for a couple days or however long we get off from break, because when we get back to the season, it's just non-stop football, football, football, football, football, non-stop for six to eight months, eight to 10 months. So I mean, definitely when that time comes, when we have it off, I take my time and enjoy it.”
Ohio State’s best virtual football player, too?
Smith said his favorite video game to play is EA Sports College Football. Asked who the best EA Sports College Football player on the team is, Smith paused to think before laughing and saying himself.
“Yeah, I'm pretty good, pretty decent,” Smith said.
Asked who the worst EA Sports College Football player on the team is, Smith answered much more quickly.
“I'd say probably Nolan Baudo,” Smith said, referencing Ohio State’s well-liked fourth-year walk-on wide receiver.
Smith says he sometimes plays with Ohio State in the video game, but not always. Smith’s other favorite teams to play with in EA Sports College Football include the team Ohio State beat in the national championship game two seasons ago, and the team the Buckeyes will face in Week 2 of this season.
“I play with Ohio State, but I play with a lot of different teams. You would be surprised. I've been playing a lot with Notre Dame. Notre Dame is pretty good. Their defense is pretty special. Texas as well. Really, I've been rotating with them through us, Texas, and Notre Dame.”
Does playing with the Longhorns make Smith think about the Buckeyes’ pending road trip to Austin in September?
“Yeah, I do, I be thinking about it like that,” Smith said. “We’re about to be playing in Texas in a month or two, so, yeah, it's pretty special.”
Chess sharpens Smith’s mental game
Asked to name something that people wouldn’t know about him that he’d want people to know, Smith said it might surprise people that he enjoys playing chess.
“That's probably the one thing a lot of people probably don't know about me, I play chess. I'm not going to say I'm the best, but I'm pretty decent,” Smith said.
Smith believes the strategy that chess requires applies to many areas of life, including the football field.
“It's a thinking man's game. You have to think, make the right moves. I think it applies to life a lot, really,” Smith said. “I think chess definitely translates to the mental side of football. You have to think before you move. Things like that.”
Chicken, steak dinners among Smith’s favorite meals
If Smith could only have one meal for the rest of his life, he says his plate would consist of chicken, macaroni and cheese, yams, collard greens and corn bread.
Smith says his favorite restaurant in Columbus is Butcher & Rose. Ohio State took the Buckeyes to the downtown Columbus steakhouse for a team outing this summer, and Smith said those outings are one of his favorite parts of being a Buckeye.
“I'd say probably when we do our team bonding things,” Smith said when asked about his favorite moments as a Buckeye off the field. “That's really probably the biggest thing, just going out to eat with all the guys. Just enjoying time with each other, spending time with each other, talking about different things, stuff like that.”
Smith watches Netflix thrillers, listens to old-school rap
Smith said his favorite TV show to watch right now is Fool Me Once, a crime thriller series on Netflix.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Smith said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on.”
Smith said he doesn’t have any gameday superstitions, but he does always listen to music before games. His favorite artists to listen to before games include rappers Lil Durk, Tupac and DMX.
“I'm an old school guy on game day, really,” Smith said.
Kenyatta Jackson, James Smith highlight teammate superlatives
If Smith was stranded on a desert island, which of his Ohio State teammates would he want by his side? Smith went with fifth-year senior defensive end Kenyatta Jackson, who he was also high school teammates with at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School.
“I need somebody that’s gonna crack jokes and be serious and funny at the same time. I'd say Kenyatta Jackson,” Smith said. “We're kind of the same type of person. We could both figure things out. Cool, calm and collected. So yeah, probably Kenyatta.”
Asked who he wouldn’t want to be stranded with, Smith went with another fifth-year senior, starting center Carson Hinzman.
“He be trippin’ sometimes,” Smith said, laughing. “So Carson for sure. No Carson.”
Asked who’s the funniest player on the team, Smith didn’t hesitate with his answer of fourth-year defensive tackle James Smith, who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama this summer.
“James Smith, without a doubt,” Jeremiah Smith said. “The things he says, the things he does, when we be up there talking for like hours after we're done working out; you can ask anybody on the team, they would probably say James Smith, for sure.”
Michael Thomas, DJ Khaled among famous encounters
Asked who’s the coolest person he’s had the opportunity to meet during his Buckeye career, Smith went with another legendary Ohio State wide receiver: Michael Thomas, who set the NFL single-season receptions record with 149 catches and earned NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2019 after starring for the Buckeyes from 2012-15, also helping Ohio State win a national championship in 2014.
Outside of football, Smith said the coolest person he’s had the chance to meet is DJ Khaled, whom he met earlier this year while attending F1’s Miami Grand Prix.
“I really met a lot of people down there, really, but I'd probably say DJ Khaled,” Smith said.
As for people he hasn’t had the chance to meet yet, Smith said he most wants to meet Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and the world’s fourth-wealthiest person with a net worth of $224 billion.
“Just probably get a lot of advice,” Smith said of why he wants to meet Bezos. “He makes a lot of money, so how can I make more money?”
A humble, caring and honest guy
To wrap up the interview, I asked Smith how he would describe himself as a person.
“Very humble, cares about his family, honest,” Smith said.
That description was backed up by Ohio State coach Ryan Day when he was asked about his star receiver later in the day.
“This is a guy who cares about his teammates,” Day said. “Not only just the production on the field, but the way he goes about his business, the discipline that he has, what he's set for walking into our program and being an Iron Buckeye as a freshman, like all of those things matter. And just the way he's handled himself off the field; he's not selfish, but he hates to lose. He puts hard work in every day and he's the ultimate competitor.
“In a day and age where everybody watches social media, they play the video game, they know who he is, and just the way he handles himself on a day-to-day basis is a gentleman, high character guy who does everything right. And so you have the on the field and you have the off the field, and we're very fortunate he's a Buckeye, man. He's done so many great things for us, but I think he wants this year to be his best.”
