Jeremiah Smith Says This Ohio State Season Is His Last: ‘It’s Time for Me to Go’
Jeremiah Smith is ready for the NFL, and he does not want anyone to think otherwise. The Ohio State star wide receiver made it clear at Big Ten Media Days this week that 2026 is his last college season.
The junior said all the right things about giving everything he has to the Buckeyes this fall. Then he made sure everyone knew the countdown to his professional career had already started.
“Kind of sad, but I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,” Smith said about his final college season, per Eleven Warriors.
When someone reminded him that he technically has two years of eligibility remaining beyond this campaign, Smith did not hedge. He knew, and he made his answer clear.
“I know, but I think it’s time for me to go,” he said.
That is a pretty direct message to Ohio State fans hoping for one more year. Smith is going pro after this season, and no amount of NIL money is going to keep him around. His college clock is ticking down.
You cannot really blame him. Smith has produced numbers that are hard to fathom for a college wide receiver at this age. Through two seasons, he has 2,558 receiving yards and 27 touchdowns on 87 receptions across 29 games. He was a legitimate Freshman All-American, then followed it up with a First Team All-American season as a sophomore.
He is projected to go inside the top five picks of the 2027 NFL Draft. Some scouts have already labeled him as a generational talent at the wide receiver position. His combination of size, speed, ball skills, and physicality is the kind of profile that comes along once every decade or so.
Staying in college for another year does not add anything to that draft stock. If anything, it just introduces injury risk. Smith is playing a violent position at the highest level of college football. Every snap he takes now is another chance for a hamstring pull or a knee injury to cost him tens of millions of dollars.
The smart move is exactly what he is planning. Play one more season for a title. Cash out in the draft. Sign a massive rookie contract with whatever unlucky franchise picks in the top five. Move on with life.
That does not mean the 2026 season will be a coast. Smith still has real motivation to chase a national championship. Ohio State was bounced from last year’s playoff earlier than expected. The Buckeyes finished the season with a bad taste in their mouths. Getting back to the top of college football is a real priority for this team.
Smith will be the focal point of the offense. Julian Sayin is expected to build off his Heisman finalist campaign at quarterback. The two of them together should be one of the most explosive passing combos in the country. When defenses focus on Smith, Sayin has other weapons. When defenses double the other guys, Smith gets one-on-one matchups that he wins basically every time.
Ryan Day’s offense is built around exactly that dynamic. The Buckeyes want to score a lot of points and put pressure on opposing defenses from the opening snap. Smith is the biggest chess piece on the board.
Ohio State opens on September 5 against Ball State at the Horseshoe. The road to the College Football Playoff runs through games with Texas, Michigan, and probably several other top-15 opponents. Smith has 12 games to leave his mark on college football, and then he is off to Sundays.
The NFL is going to love watching him play at the next level. But Ohio State fans should soak up every catch this fall. It really is the last time.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
