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Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith Made Interesting Change After Two Early Drops vs. Texas

Throw those gloves away.

Blake Silverman

Jeremiah Smith changed his gloves after dropping two passes early against Texas
Jeremiah Smith changed his gloves after dropping two passes early against Texas / Screengrab via FOX
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If it's broke, just go ahead and fix it right away.

Ohio State's star receiver Jeremiah Smith had an uncharacteristic two drops early in the Buckeyes' heavyweight showdown against No. 1 Texas Saturday. Per The Athletic's Dane Brugler, he had just one drop on 105 targets last year. Then, to start the 2025 season, he had two drops on just three targets.

Here are the early miscues:

Something had to change quickly for Smith, and he decided to make that adjustment in the form of his gloves. When he came off the field late in the first quarter after the two drops, he changed out his gloves on the Ohio State sideline between drives.

The swap may have worked, as he went out and made a 16-yard grab on the second play of the next Buckeye drive.

A preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, Smith made 76 catches for 1,315 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns last year in his freshman season. In Ohio State's national championship game win over Notre Dame, he made five grabs for 88 yards and a score.

It was certainly a rocky start to his sophomore year in the big game against the preseason No. 1 team in the country, but Smith may be back on track after the slight change. Throw those other gloves right in the trash.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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