Buckeyes 2024 WR Pledge Jeremiah Smith Named No. 1 Prospect

Current 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes commit Jeremiah Smith has been named the No. 1 overall player in his class.

Author:
Harrison Reno
Jul 11, 2023 11:23 AM EDT

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Current 2024 Ohio State Buckeyes commit Jeremiah Smith is already known as the best receiver in his class thanks to his consensus No. 1 positional ranking. Yet, he can now add the title of being the best overall prospect after ON3.com released its updated "industry rankings" for the 2024 recruiting class.

For those unfamiliar with the relatively new website, ON3's "industry rankings" are essentially the same as 247Sports' "composite rankings" in that it considers the rankings of four other sites. Those sites being accounted for are 247Sports, ON3, ESPN, and Rivals. The only difference between ON3's industry rankings and 247Sports' composite is each site's weight on the consensus.

Despite Smith holding to his pledge with the Buckeyes since December of 2022, rumors started swirling earlier this summer that he may be looking elsewhere following ex-Ohio State commit Dylan Raiola announcing his flip to Georgia. Raiola's commitment to the Bulldogs just so happened to coincide with the weekend that he and Smith would both be visiting Athens this past May.

The buzz of the Bulldogs potentially flipping the Smith away from Ohio State was only exacerbated by a picture of the Buckeyes commit donning some Georgia gear ahead of a workout.

However, it wouldn't take long for Smith to shoot down the possibility of a flip not once but twice. The latter was as recent as Monday when he quote-tweeted a presumed Georgia fan hinting at a potential flip to the defending national champions. Smith made his thoughts on the subject known with three laughing emojis and a thumbs down.

If all things hold as expected, Smith would be the next highly-rated receiver to enroll at Ohio State. Receivers coach Brian Hartline has made nabbing the nation's best prospects at his position and turning them into first-round NFL Draft picks a tradition since joining the coaching staff.

As Buckeye fans know, nothing is a sure thing in recruiting these days, which is why Smith's name will likely continue to be in the rumor mill as programs across the country try to gain his allegiance.