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COLUMBUS, Ohio — On a field full of future high NFL draft picks on a frigid winter night, the 19-year old freshman playing in his first playoff game looked the best of all of them.
Watching Ohio State freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith race past Tennessee defenders trying to stop him in one-on-one coverage was perhaps the most impressive performance of any freshman this season. Every attempt a really good Tennessee defense had at trying to slow him down was completely futile.
Smith, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound athletic freak, was simply better than everything Tennessee tried to throw at him. He was faster, stronger, had better footwork, better hands. He finished with six catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns, the first freshman receiver since Clemson’s Justyn Ross back in 2018 to have more than 100 yards and two touchdowns in a College Football Playoff game. Every time Ohio State quarterback Will Howard looked Smith’s way, you expected him to deliver magic and he did.
Tennessee’s only chance at stopping him was interfering with him which worked on what should have been Smith’s third touchdown of the night. Otherwise Smith effortlessly blew past All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy for a touchdown after the Vols defender led his team with four interceptions and nine pass breakups this season. Smith later posted a message on X making it clear he thought he bested McCoy.
“He’s a dude, man,” Howard said. “I think he’s the best receiver in the country.”
He certainly looked the part Saturday night in No. 8 Ohio State’s blowout 42-17 win over No. 9 Tennessee. Smith’s dominant performance is why he was ranked 247Sports’ No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2024 — the first time a receiver ever accomplished that — and the center of a…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/jeremiah-smith-is-ohio-states-best-shot-at-winning-a-national-championship-dont-forget-about-him-buckeyes/
Author : John Talty
Publish date : 2024-12-22 17:20:00
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