Jeremiah Smith Falls Behind SEC WR in College Football 'Freaks' List

By all measures, Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith is an amazing college football player. The likely top player in the sport, Smith uses speed, size, and athleticism to climb the record book at Ohio State in every game he plays. But even Smith can't compete in all areas, as proven by him taking a back seat to an SEC super-athlete in a recent New York Times list of college football "freaks."

Freaks, for the uninitiatied, isn't an insult in this context. While college football players in general look like beings scultped from a better material than most common human beings, there are some players whose combination of size and skill is outright shocking. Nobody is denying Smith a spot on that list. He's just over 6'3", weighs a sculpted 224 pounds, but is still tracked at running 23.5 miles per hour. But there's somebody crazier.

College Football's Biggest Freak?

South Carolina receiver Nyck Harbor is the player who jumped atop Smith to the top of the freaks list. Harbor is taller than Smith-- measuring in at around 6'6"-- and is also thicker, listed at between 235 and 243 pounds. Harbor is built with the musculature of a tight end... but also has the speed of a wide receiver.

Harbor's fast enough to star for South Carolina's track team. Visualize a group of sprinters a half foot shorter and 50-60 pounds lighter than Harbor-- and he still can outrun most of them. Harbor was tracked at 23.8 miles per hour in the offseason, which might make him eligible as something akin to an upright cheetah.

Harbor's Developing Career

Harbor came out of Washington DC in the 2023 class as a standout recruit, if not a consensus top national recruit like Jeremiah Smith. On3's consensus rankings had Harbor as the No. 21 recruit in the nation, while ESPN had him as a mere four-star recruit at No. 39 nationally.

Harbor has had to grow into his skills, catching just 12 passes in 2023 for 195 yards. His role grew in 2024, as he snagged 26 passes for 376 yards. But in 2025, Harbor showed signs of breaking through as a next-level talent.

He caught 30 passes for 618 yards, but also impressed coach Shane Beamer enough with his speed to get a spot returning kicks for South Carolina. It's certainly a good sign for Harbor's development that he finished his junior year with his first two career 100 yard receiving games, against Texas A&M (three catches for 102 yards) and Clemson (six catches for 115 yards). Harbor's 20.6 yards per carry could be a preview of his senior season ahead.

While Jeremiah Smith's Buckeyes are much closer to a national title, Harbor's skills will cause eyes to pop throughout the SEC and the nation. Better than Smith? That's a high bar to set, but Harbor's massive physique and developing receiving skills might make him even more unbelievable than Smith.

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