Jeremiah Smith’s Record Is Not an Argument to Force Him the Ball

Jeremiah Smith needed only 33 games to become Ohio State’s career leader in receiving yards. The obvious response is to feed him until every other Buckeyes record belongs to him, too.

That would miss what makes him so valuable.

Smith caught five passes for 85 yards in Ohio State’s 59–3 win over Kent State and finished the day with 2,958 career yards. He passed Michael Jenkins’s previous mark of 2,898 and is now closing on the school records for receptions and touchdown catches, according to Reuters’ September 19 report.

He entered that game with 315 yards through Ohio State’s first two outings. Nobody can credibly argue he has been ignored.

He did not need 15 targets to change the game. That is the point.

Ohio State punted once in 14 drives. Brandon Inniss produced 78 receiving yards, including a 49-yard touchdown. Smith’s gravity helped create a version of the offense in which Julian Sayin could distribute the ball instead of treating every passing down like a referendum on his best receiver.

There is a counterargument: great players should touch the ball, and Ohio State’s first job is winning—not proving it has balanced target shares. When a game tightens, designing touches for Smith is common sense.

But force-feeding him can make the offense smaller. Defenses already tilt safeties toward him, press with help behind the corner and dare Ohio State to remain patient. The punishment for that attention should come from the other 10 players.

The more relevant concern from Kent State was elsewhere. Ohio State converted only one of eight third downs and averaged 3.8 yards per rush. Those numbers will matter more than whether Smith catches five passes or 12.

My verdict: Smith’s record proves he can dominate without manufactured volume. Ohio State should use him to distort the defense, then make opponents regret every extra set of eyes they send his way.