$4.2 Million WR Named Best Non-QB in College Football

A wait spanning close to six months separates the first days of March from the first weekend of the 2026 college football season. During this wait, college football media begin to determine what storylines to pay attention to in the upcoming season, often in the form of lists.

College football media personality Brooks Austin unveiled his list of the 10 best non-quarterbacks in college football entering the 2026 season. Atop Austin's list was Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who enters his third and likely final season with the Buckeyes.

The 6-foot-3, 223-pounder ranked as the top wide receiver prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle when he committed to Ohio State. Smith's instantaneous production was a catalyst for the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff National Championship run; he finished his freshman year with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns.

The production of Smith in 2025 paralleled that of his freshman season. He caught 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns despite playing in two fewer games. He repeated as Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year and as an All-Big Ten First Team selection. Nationally, he was a consensus All-America selection.

Smith's approach to the 2026 season

One of the greatest challenges in college football is to repeat as a national champion. Ohio State won all 12 of its regular-season games in its national title defense, but a heartbreaking loss to Indiana and the Big Ten Championship and a quarterfinal exit in the College Football Playoff dashed hopes of a repeat.

Jeremiah Smith during the 2025 Cotton Bowl. — Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) runs for a touchdown during the 2025 Cotton Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Ohio State feels it has unfinished business to prove as it enters the 2026 season. On an individual level, Smith's approach to the 2026 season is a microcosm of Ohio State's approach.

In addition to the shortcoming of being a repeat national champion, Smith was one of three finalists for the Biletnikoff Award in 2025, an accolade given to the best wide receiver in college football. USC wide receiver Makai Lemon ultimately won the award, fending off both Smith and Connecticut wide receiver Skyler Bell.

"I'm just gonna be on Go every game. I feel like they took something from me and everybody's gotta pay for it," Smith said in an interview in January. "That's what I feel like going into my junior year. I'm out for everybody."

Smith's biggest competition for the Biletnikoff Award

One player that figures to enter the Biletnikoff Award race in 2026 is the second-best non-quarterback on Austin's list. Malachi Toney's heroics in the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff have earned him national attention as he enters his sophomore season at Miami.

Smith and Toney are two very different wide receivers. Smith is a rare combination of size and speed, whereas Toney is much smaller and far more elusive, a trait that makes him a great option as a return specialist.