Can Texas Stop Jeremiah Smith Once Again?

Ohio State Buckeyes junior wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has arguably been the best player in college football in each of the past two seasons. He followed a freshman campaign where he was an x-factor for a national championship-winning team with a sophomore year where he was a unanimous All-American.

Only one team has managed to shut down Smith: the Texas Longhorns. In two games against the Longhorns, he has managed just seven catches, 46 yards and no touchdowns.

However, Texas changed defensive coordinators from Pete Kwiatkowski to Will Muschamp this offseason, meaning that they will have to make a new game plan for Smith. With that being said, how did the Longhorns lock up Smith before, and how can they do it again?

How Texas Took Jeremiah Smith Out of the Game

Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith celebrates a touchdown against Penn State | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Longhorns first met Smith in the 2024 Cotton Bowl, where they held him to three targets, one catch, three yards and a 55.4 PFF grade, all career-low marks. They achieved this by disincentivizing then-starting quarterback Will Howard from throwing to Smith early before transitioning to a more balanced game plan.

More specifically, Kwiatkoski kept a safety over the top of Smith's side of the field and sometimes even used them to create a bracket, which is when two players cover one receiver, on Smith.

On this play, the Longhorns show a two-high safety look in response to the Buckeyes' balanced 2x2 set. Cornerback Malik Muhammad, circled in red, and weak-safety Michael Taaffe, circled in blue, are going to create a bracket on Smith.

As soon as the ball is snapped, Taaffe's eyes lock on to Smith. This confirms that Texas is running a bracket, as safeties in Saban-system two-high coverages usually look to the inside receiver first, as Texas' strong safety Andrew Mukuba does on this very play.

As the play develops, Taaffe's job is to take inside leverage and defend Smith on any passes high and inside while Muhammad covers Smith low and outside. This allows the Longhorns to have leverage against any throw to Smith, and consequently, he does not get targeted on this play.

The Buckeyes still get a big gain on this play, showing how keeping a bracket on Smith for an entire game would be unsustainable. This is where the second part of Kwaitkoski's game plan came in.

Once Texas forced the thought of throwing the ball to Smith out of Howard's head, they transitioned to more single-high safety looks and were not paying Smith any extra attention. Ohio State never tried to go back to him, which let Texas spend its defensive resources elsewhere.

In 2025, Kwiatkoski spent fewer plays bracketing Smith but added a heightened level of physicality that led him to have a similarly frustrating day at the office. His PFF dropped-passes grade of 33.4 from that game is the lowest of his career by 20 points.

So the plan for Smith in 2026 will likely follow the successful plans before it: commit extra bodies early and get physical.

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