Jeremiah Smith Closing In on Ohio State Record With History Within Reach Against Kent State  

Ohio State took a hard punch to the jaw last week. Up 20 points in the fourth quarter against Texas, the Buckeyes let the game slip away, falling 24-23 and dropping from No. 1 to No. 6 in the AP poll. Now, head coach Ryan Day has to clean up the mess against Kent State. But inside Ohio Stadium this weekend, everyone’s eyes will be on star receiver Jeremiah Smith, who sits right on the edge of breaking a school record that has stood for over a couple of decades.

The star wideout needs just 25 more receiving yards to pass Michael Jenkins, who set the program record of 2,898 yards between 2000 and 2003. What makes this chase so wild is how many elite NFL receivers have passed through Columbus since then. Names like Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes came and went, but Jenkins’ mark stayed intact until now.

Passing Jenkins isn’t just about grabbing a school record. It cements Ohio State as the undisputed factory for elite receivers and locks Smith in as a potential top-five pick for the 2027 NFL Draft. Doing this in just his third year shows he isn’t just another good college player. Smith is a generational talent who is changing how defense gets played.

Ohio State Buckeyes’ Michael Jenkins (12) | Credits: IMAGO

Smith is aware of what he is chasing, naming the current school record holders without hesitation. He pointed to Emeka Egbuka’s reception record and Chris Olave’s touchdown mark while making it clear that breaking both such records is on his radar ahead of the fall camp before the season.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I know who holds them,” Smith said, according to Patrick Murphy of 247Sports on August 5. “I know (Emeka Egbuka) holds the receptions. I think he holds the yards as well. And I think Chris Olave holds the touchdown record. So yeah, it’s on my radar for sure… I feel like this coaching staff has done a great job of using me in the right way to accomplish those things. So I’m really grateful to hopefully break records.”

Smith has racked up more than 25 yards in a single quarter this season during the last two games against Ball State and Texas. He has averaged more than 150 yards per game, including a 164-yard performance against Texas’s defense, though the Buckeyes finished with a loss.

The Ohio State wideout is also fourth in program history in receptions, trailing Egbuka’s record of 205 by just 26 catches. He is fourth in receiving touchdowns as well, short of the five from Olave’s mark of 35.

Depending on how the rest of the season unfolds, Smith has a legitimate shot at holding all three major Ohio State receiving records before his junior season is complete.

Kent State won’t stand in the way of history on Saturday. Needing just 25 yards, Smith could easily shatter the 22-year-old school record on Ohio State’s very first offensive drive. With the Buckeyes heavily favored, head coach Ryan Day will likely look to get Smith his record-breaking catch early in the first quarter before spreading the ball around and resting his starters.

Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith dependence becomes a major concern after Texas collapse

During the Longhorns game, Smith caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, while other Ohio State receivers combined for two catches and 24 yards. Day has been upfront about the challenges faced and also the issues with the offense, where QB Julian Sayin was dependent solely on Smith while Texas took advantage of the obvious offensive system working around Smith.

This heavy reliance on Smith works as a double-edged sword for his record chase. When defenses like Texas sell out to double-team him, it should technically slow his yardage down. But because quarterback Julian Sayin keeps feeding him the ball anyway, Smith keeps pulling in huge stats, bringing him to the finish line even faster than expected.

“We’ve got to get other guys involved,” Day said, according to Joey Kaufman of USA Today. “We’ve got to take some pressure off of Jeremiah. Any time you don’t have success, you’ve got to look at everything and make sure we’re doing what’s right, but it goes without saying that we need to get other players involved rather than Jeremiah on offense.”

Credits: IMAGO

Devin McCuin recorded six catches for 97 yards and a touchdown, but was able to post just one catch for five yards. Freshman Chris Henry Jr. and Brock Boyd barely got targeted, and Brandon Inniss finished with a single catch.

Though the game against the Golden Flashes would not stress Day about his offense, it gives him plenty of time to build chemistry between Sayin and other targets ahead of the tough schedule with Indiana, Oregon, and Michigan.

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