Why Ohio State Can Get Back to the National Championship in 2026
Ohio State 2026 preview, Ohio State football, Buckeyes national championship chances, 2026 college football predictions, College Football Playoff contenders, and Ohio State national title odds are the focus as Joe DeLeone and Ryan Roberts break down why the Buckeyes are built to make another championship run.
Video Transcript
Jeremiah Smith's on another level in terms of a prospect.
There has been mixed commentary on him because a lot of people love to say, "Ah, there's Just stop saying generational.
There's no such thing as generational."
But Jeremiah Smith feels like he's the exception when we have these conversations.
I mean, I think, I think we, I think we talked about it a little bit on this channel maybe, like, a few weeks ago, Joe, in terms of, like, early NFL Draft conversation for 2027, but I do think that e- I, I do think, like, overall landscape of the NFL Draft sphere does overuse the word generational, but that doesn't mean that you can't use it if it's, if it's there.
Right.
You know what I mean?
Like, if, if it's real, like, don't throw generational to five different people every draft process, because obviously that's not likely.
But for a kid that came into college football who is now a verified 6'3" and 225 pounds and was able to dominate the way he was as a true freshman, I said it then and I'll say it again, every once in a while we get a player who comes in that could probably go to the NFL as a freshman, right?
Like, we've seen guys try to do it, like Marlo- Maurice Clarett in the past, like, tried to do it, and then he got denied, and then he had to sit out and all that type of stuff.
But, like, I remember Adrian Peterson when he was a freshman at Oklahoma, where it's like, "Yeah, that guy could play in the NFL right now."
Like, he 100% could.
Jameis Winston was another.
Like, there were, there have been guys that legitimately could have played professional football after their freshman year if they were able to declare- Mm-hmm and probably would've been first-round picks.
Jeremiah Smith's one of those aliens.
Like, he is, 'cause he has the size, strength, speed combination to play at that level and to hold up physically.
And now we're looking two years later and it's just, like, the n- stuff that we're nitpicking at this point is the most just boring commentary of all time.
Like, yes, a 6'3", 225 pounds wide receiver's not going to cut on a dime like a Jaxon Smith-Njigba can be, right, can do as a slot.
Mm-hmm.
But why do you expect him to be?
Th- this kid is big, physical, fast, has dominated from day one in college football, and has not let off the gas at that point.
So, yeah, he's a, he's what we call in the sphere an easy evaluation.
Let's not overthink.
I think there's two guys, especially early on in the 2027 class, that I look at and say- Yeah "Let's not overthink it."
Jeremiah Smith is number one on that board in terms of, like, let's just, let not, let's not overthink this thing.
This guy's a future All-Pro.
Well, and the other thing, too, you kind of brought up i, if, in the lens of how do we talk about him compared to other wide receivers, and you can't really expect him to be able to transiti- transition as nimbly as a guy who wins in the slot or somebody who is smaller and more compact.
Mm-hmm.
But I will say- Right this, he does transition and move way better than he's supposed to be able to.
We're talking about a guy that is well over 220 pounds, he's rocked up, he's gigantic.
Right.
And he, he does capably get in and out of his breaks like he was 30 pounds lighter.
He moves like 190-pound wide receiver, and he has this gigantic catch radius, and he catches everything that's thrown his way.
I think part of this why people get pissed off and they get all up in arms and angry is because we did this with Marvin Harrison Jr. to a degree, and everybody was saying Marvin Harrison Jr. is a no-brainer, and he's gonna be an elite player in the NFL, and he hasn't really panned out in the NFL.
Mm-hmm.
I think that there's a separation, though, between Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jeremiah Smith, if that's even possible- Oh, there is, yeah when they were coming out.
Oh, no, no, it, it is.
Because, I mean, we saw fr- flashes, and not like the, the early breakout stuff that we see in, like, the fantasy community.
But I do think it matters if you were able to easily transition to college football to, like, that heights.
Mm-hmm.
Because Marvin Harrison Jr. had his breakout when he was a sophomore, right?
But we're talking about a kid, again, in Jeremiah Smith, that did it as a true freshman where he was the best receiver in college football from day one pretty much, right?
So, like, that stuff matters 100%.
And I Joe, his career catch rate is 1.8.
I mean, sorry, sorry, his catch rate.
His- Drop rate his drop percentage is 1.8%.
If you're under five, you're elite.
If you are under two, you are a- freak show.
Like, this kid doesn't drop passes.
His drop percentage is only slightly higher than what Arvaale Reese's GPA was in high school, you know what I mean?
Like, it is an absolute absurd thing.
Obviously, that's poking fun, Ohio State fans.
I know, you saw the quote, it was out of context, I understand.
Y- take a joke, right?
Right?
Go and touch air, something.
I don't, I don't know what the saying is already, but- Why you already, why you already creating enemies, man?
I'm s- I'm antagonizing it a little bit.
It's been five minutes into this.
But, look, man, I can antagonize what I'm calling a guy the best wide receiver prospect I have personally ever seen.
I did not evaluate Calvin Johnson in my professional career.
I did not evaluate Julio Jones.
I remember Julio Jones.
I remember having thoughts about Julio Jones and A.J.
Green in that class, but I did not have a firm grade.
Jul- Jeremiah Smith is the best wide receiver I've ever evaluated, and I don't think it's particularly close.
So, we are talking about an alien.
We're talking about a guy that if you're gonna poke holes in him, similarly to the conversations we've had in the past of, like, Kyle Hamilton, and Peane Suul, and some of these just truly alien prospects- Mm-hmm you're gonna have to get real finite and nitpicky for with anything that you say in the negative column about a Jeremiah Smith.
This kid is truly a generational football player
