Ohio State Buckeyes standout freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith quickly established himself as one of the nation’s most dominant wideouts during his first year of college football. Now, other programs are reportedly offering substantial sums to lure him away from Ohio State. According to college football insider Pete Nakos of On3, Smith has been presented with offers ranging between $4.5 million and $5 million to transfer to a different program. Despite these efforts, Nakos states that Ohio State “is ready to do whatever it needs to hold onto Smith.”
As the top-rated player in the 2024 high school recruiting class, Smith shined throughout Ohio State’s playoff campaign, accumulating 381 receiving yards and five touchdowns over a four-game stretch. Over the entire season, he recorded 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns—one of the most impressive seasons in Ohio State history, especially for an 18-year-old true freshman. His stellar performance has led several NFL Draft analysts to suggest that if eligible, he could be the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, even as an 18-year-old freshman.
This explains why other teams are keen on pursuing the young superstar, but the news of the massive offers has ignited numerous reactions on social media. “Really disheartening for the programs offering such amounts to only be turned down,” one person wrote on X. Another fan commented, “NCAA needs to act quickly before this gets out of hand; every pro league has a cap and multi-year contracts, as well as performance-based compensation. The players went from no power to having excessive ability to chase money (they deserve plenty, but it’s just the Wild West and out of many coaches’ control).”
“This is smart. Now OSU has to spend a significant amount on two players instead of spreading it out,” noted another fan, while someone else remarked, “Smith might be worth more than double that $4.5 million.” Another individual stated, “NIL /Portal need guardrails or proper multi-year contracts. It’s out of control right now.”
“Ohio State has one of the best WR coaches, Brian Hartline, who has developed numerous NFL WRs. Smith and Tate likely want to stay at Ohio State for that reason; they won’t receive better coaching elsewhere. Additionally, as champions, OSU should be able to meet or exceed those NIL deals,” another person wrote. Clearly, Ohio State is committed to doing whatever it takes to retain him with the Buckeyes, but that hasn’t deterred other teams from trying.
