Buckeyes Now

WATCH: Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith Explodes For First Career Rushing TD

Ohio State Buckeyes star Jeremiah Smith scored his first career rushing touchdown against Michigan State.
Matthew Schmidt|
Sep 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) breaks away for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
Sep 21, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) breaks away for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Marshall Thundering Herd at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

In this story:

Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith entered his team's game against the Michigan State Spartans with four touchdowns, but all of them came through the air.

That's pretty much what you would expect from a receiver, right?

Well, on Saturday night, Smith scored a different type of touchdown: one as a rusher.

During the second quarter against Michigan State, Smith took an end-around for an 18-yard rushing touchdown to give Ohio State a 17-7 lead.

No one was really sure what to expect of Smith heading into the season.

The 18-year-old was viewed by many as the best wide receiver prospect to ever come through Columbus, and some even felt he was the best receiver prospect in history, period.

Given that Ohio State already had Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate in its receiving corps, Smith's role was somewhat murky during the offseason.

The fact that Smith was a freshman led some to believe that he wouldn't exactly make a colossal impact in 2024. After all, even Marvin Harrison Jr. had a very limited role in his debut campaign.

But Smith has obviously put all of those concerns to bed.

The speedster entered Saturday's action with 14 catches for 281 yards and four touchdowns over his first three games, and he seems poised to add much more to that as the season progresses.

Obviously, the Buckeyes are now employing Smith in different offensive packages, which is bad news for the Big Ten and the rest of the country.

We'll see what else Smith has in store the rest of the way.

Published
Matthew Schmidt
MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.

Home/News