Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after his performance in the Buckeyes’ 38-7 win over Michigan State.
Smith and the Buckeyes went on the road to East Lansing, Mich., for their first Big Ten matchup, and the freshman came out of the game with five catches for 83 yards and a receiving touchdown while also adding 19 yards rushing on an end around that led to the first rushing touchdown of his career.
Not only were the stats that he put up good numbers – all in the first half – but the way he was able to score was possibly the most impressive thing he has done since he has been at Ohio State.
With less than a minute left in the first half, Howard dropped back from the Spartan 40-yard line and threw a pass to Smith down the right sideline, where the receiver would elevate in between two MSU defenders to make a one-handed grab and go down at the 17-yard line.
When Howard had to come out after having the wind knocked out of him the next play, backup quarterback Devin Brown stepped in to find Smith trailing down the right sideline again, extending his right arm and bringing in another one-handed snag with his momentum leading him the rest of the way into the end zone.
Head coach Ryan Day and Smith’s teammates talked after the game about what makes the freshman receiver special.
“His work ethic. He does it every day in practice,” Day said. “He just doesn’t say a word but works his tail off. His discipline. His humility. He loves being a Buckeye, you can tell, just by the way he works with his teammates. And he’s coming out of his shell too, which is great to see.
“But the talent speaks for itself. I just am impressed with the discipline and the hard work — being able to step in at such a young age, the only way you do that is if you go in and put the work in. He came in with that work ethic. Brian (Hartline) has certainly taken it from there. But this is a special young man.”
“He has all of the intangibles that you would want in a prototypical receiver,” senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka added. “He’s tall, he’s fast, he’s strong, all these things, but his ability to seek knowledge and want to be able to learn. He doesn’t necessarily have to listen to everything that I say, or that Coach (Brian Hartline) says, but he takes in all of this knowledge and applies it on the field. As his knowledge grows and his game expands, he’s really going to turn into something special. So Buckeye fans can be excited for these next few years.”
