Former College Football Stars Rave About Jeremiah Smith’s Ohio State Debut

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Jeremiah Smith made his much-anticipated debut with the Ohio State Buckeyes this afternoon against the Akron Zips. Not only did he not disappoint, but he completely exceeded expectations.
Already, Smith has made his name very well-known. He looks the part of a No. 1 wideout already.
Smith ended up catching six passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns in his debut. He had multiple highlight reel caliber plays.
Granted, Ohio State was playing against Akron. He's going to have a much more difficult time going against defensive backs that play for elite contenders. However, he more than showed what everyone has been impressed by throughout practice.
During his debut performance, a few high-profile former college football stars took to social media to talk about Smith.
One was Buckeyes' legend Cris Carter, who made a hilarious post after Smith dropped his first target of the game.
Jeremiah Smith is just like Cris Carter drops his first pass as a @OSUFOOTBALL_
— Cris Carter (@criscarter80) August 31, 2024
He’ll be 👌🏾
Another was from former Ohio State star wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who is about to begin his NFL career this season.
Yeaaaaa JJ🥷🏾🔥 1st of Many💯
— Marvin Harrison Jr. (@MarvHarrisonJr) August 31, 2024
Finally, former star quarterback Matt Leinart made a bold prediction about Smith's NFL future.
Jeremiah Smith is a stud. Top 10 pick now. Trust me.
— Matt Leinart (@MattLeinartQB) August 31, 2024
Harrison doubled down on his social media praise for Smith. He quoted Leinart's above post and had a slight edit to make.
— Marvin Harrison Jr. (@MarvHarrisonJr) August 31, 2024
All of that being said, it will be interesting to see how Smith continues playing as the season moves forward. Hopefully, he'll be able to replicate this kind of success in the biggest games on the schedule.
There is a lot to be excited about for Ohio State. Smith was the biggest bright spot in the game, but Will Howard played solid football, the running backs were good, and the defense made quite a few plays as well.
It's just the first game of the season, but Smith looks like a superstar in the making. So far, he's everything that the Buckeyes were hoping he would be and more.

Evan Massey is a sports reporter and analyst who covers college football, the NFL and NBA. He has contributed to the On SI network since July 2021. He has also written for ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Forbes, Bleacher Report, NFLAnalysis.net, NBAAnalysis.net and many other publications. In his free time, Evan enjoys spending time with his wife and son.