Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has been named a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award, which is given to the best first-year player in the country.
On Tuesday, it was revealed that Smith was named both the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the Big Ten Receiver of the Year – only the second player to ever win both in the same season (2018 Rondale Moore, Purdue) – after an impressive regular season in his first year with the Buckeyes.
Although Smith came into Columbus with enough talent to be the No. 1 recruit in the country, there were still naturally some questions about whether that could translate to the college level immediately, and he proved early on that it would.
He finished the regular season with 57 catches for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 47 rushing yards on four attempts with another score on the ground.
Ohio State has the most recent Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year award recipient on its team in Caleb Downs, who won the award with a great season at Alabama.
With this being just the seventh year that the Shaun Alexander award is given out nationally, Ohio State has never had a player win it, so Smith could be the first if he does. The winner will be announced on Dec. 29.
