Ohio State 5-star commit Jeremiah Smith reacts after Dylan Raiola picks Georgia
Dylan Raiola made it official by announcing his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs, as the five-star quarterback and consensus No. 1 player in the 2024 college football recruiting rankings made his pledge to the back-to-back national champions.
Now that decision appears to have some reverberations around the 2024 recruiting class, especially the existing commitment of Ohio State five-star wide receiver pledge Jeremiah Smith, who has definitely taken notice of that development.
"Georgia getting Dylan means a lot to me and my interest in them," Smith told On3 Sports of Raiola's decision.
And then he added one major admission: "I have to really give Georgia a look now that they have Dylan."
That's not exactly what Ohio State wanted to hear from what remains the program's top addition in the 2024 class as it looks to build its wide receiver rotation after the impending departure of Marvin Harrison, Jr. following the end of this coming season.
Smith is listed as the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation by On3, 247Sports, and Rivals, and the No. 4 ranked wideout on the ESPN board, and the Hollywood, Fla. native is the consensus No. 2 overall player in the country.
Georgia hasn't been shy about its interest in Smith, pursuing the wide receiver as part of its 2024 recruiting efforts and behind the scenes had been using Raiola's impending commitment to the Bulldogs as a bargaining chip to lure him to UGA instead.
Now with Smith openly saying that he has more interest in Georgia after the quarterback's bombshell commitment, the Bulldogs have major leverage to potentially pull off the flip and lure the elite receiver away from the Buckeyes.
Smith visited with Georgia twice during his recruitment, saying that he was still sticking with Ohio State despite those trips, and is scheduled to make another official visit.
Now it's up to Ryan Day and the Buckeyes' staff to keep their top WR pledge on campus and avoid jumping ship for college football's next budding dynasty.
(On3)
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