Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith burst onto the scene last year, fresh out of high school, to become one of the best players in the country and put together arguably the best season by a freshman wide receiver ever. He won’t sneak up on anyone this year and will be known as — if not the best — then one of the best players in the country and one of the preseason frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy.
It’s hard to win the Heisman as a receiver, however, and his impact on a game is more than the stats you see at the end of games. Don’t get me wrong, he’ll surely put up some numbers again, this time in his sophomore season, but he’s going to garner a lot of attention in multiple layers of the field that should open things up for others like receivers Carnell Tate and Brandon Innis, and tight end Max Klare.
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But Smith will also have the attention of the opposing coaching staffs. Just ask Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who got to see him up front and in person during last year’s College Football Playoff semifinal Cotton Bowl. He took some time to talk to Colin Cowherd and was quick to praise the generational talent that Smith is, even comparing him to a former NFL All-Pro star.
“You know, it’s interesting. I had a chance to coach Julio Jones for two years in Atlanta,” Sarkisian told Cowherd. “Reminds me a lot of him. So big and physical but yet fast. I mean cover ground, so strong at the point of attack when the ball’s in the air. You see just the ability to make contested catches.
“That’s where your attention needs to be. But, hey, they’ve got really good coaches. He’s going to be moving around. He’s not going to be lining up in one position all the time. Ideally, you’ve got multiple people with eyes on him and guarding him, but you still have to play great team defense, and you’ve got to have ability to stop the run and you’ve got to cover the other two wideouts they have that are two really good players, too. I do think there’s a multitude of things that you can do well, but you better know where No. 4 is at all times.”
The Longhorns did indeed know where Smith was last year and had a very good game plan to take him pretty much out of the game. He only had one catch for three yards against Texas, but again, that opened up opportunities for other players. Carnell Tate had seven catches for 87 yards and Will Howard still threw for 289 yards.
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You can bank on Smith putting up bigger numbers than that on August 30.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Texas coach Steve Sarkisian praises Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith
