Five-Star Ohio State WR Commit Jeremiah Smith Keeping Recruiting Options Open

Despite saying he's "home" and "locked in," Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver commit Jeremiah Smith doesn't necessarily want to close off his recruiting entirely.

Author:
Casey Smith
Mar 6, 2023 8:00 AM EST

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Jeremiah Smith announced his commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes Dec. 14, 2022, but he hasn't stopped from keeping an open mind and listening to other schools.

Smith told BuckeyesNow that Georgia, Miami and USC are among the three schools still actively recruiting him with the first two doing the best job at keeping contact with him, and Smith doesn't want to eliminate his options despite being committed to Ohio State.

"They're top schools still because you never know what could happen at Ohio State," Smith said. "Coach Hartline gets fired, coaching changes, coach Hartline might get a job offer in the NFL, he might take it, so I got to keep that relationship open with all the coaches. So I ain't really going to cut nobody off."

Smith said he was highly considering Florida, but is not as interested now that former wide receivers coach Keary Colbert took a job with the Denver Broncos.

The Opa Locka, FL. native hasn't taken an official visit to Columbus yet. He said he was supposed to go in April 2023 but a track meet conflicts with the scheduling, so he plans to "get up there in the summertime."

He said he plans to take official visits to Georgia and USC, but doesn't have to for Miami "because that's just right there," approximately 30 minutes from his hometown.

Smith said new Hurricanes offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson has talked to him "a little bit."

"Really he's just telling me just give him a chance, really just come out, come by, check him out," Smith said. "Because actually, he coached my cousin Geno Smith at West Virginia, so yeah I could see myself in that offense for sure."

Jeremiah Smith said he hasn't asked Geno Smith about Dawson.

One coach that Jeremiah Smith is very familiar with, though, is Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. He said "you can't really dislike coach Hartline."

"He's a cool, funny guy," Jeremiah Smith said. "He's passionate about what he do and he wants to get you better each and every day. That's one thing I can say, I went up there and seen it for myself. Every time I went to visit, I mean, he wanted to push his guys to be the best and be first-round draft picks."

The five-star, who would be Ohio State's fifth-best recruit of all time if he signs, said he committed to the Buckeyes because of "the brotherhood" and the coaches.

"Coaches, they really care about me not just as a football player but off the field too like in the classroom, what I'm doing in the community and stuff like that with my school," Jeremiah Smith said.