Urban Meyer names No. 1 player in college football

Urban Meyer named who he considers the best college football player in 2026.

Urban Meyer on the sidelines prior to the 2025 Peach Bowl and semifinal game of the College Football Playoff | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

A fortnight has passed since the end of the 2025 college football season. A long offseason stands between the College Football Playoff National Championship game and the first weekend of the 2026 college football season.

In the weeks that follow every college football season, the media releases way too early projections for what it expects to happen in the following college football season. These projections include top 25 rankings, Heisman Trophy odds and College Football Playoff brackets.

In the midst of a discussion on Heisman Trophy projections, three-time national champion head coach and FOX Sports college football analyst Urban Meyer named who he believes is the best returning college football player.

On a recent edition of The Triple Option with fellow FOX college football panelists Rob Stone and Mark Ingram II, Meyer claimed Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith would have the best college football season in 2026.

Jeremiah Smith has better Heisman odds than Dante Moore at @fanduel

Smith: +1300
Moore: +1500 pic.twitter.com/asDVAJh1kf

— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) February 2, 2026

"I think the best player is going to be Jeremiah Smith, but that's hard for a receiver to win it," Meyer said on the podcast.

The 6-foot-3, 223-pounder was considered both the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 1 overall prospect when he committed to Ohio State's 2024 signing class.

Smith instantly produced for the Buckeyes, helping them to their first national championship victory in a decade with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns. He finished with more than 100 receiving yards in five games, two of which were in that College Football Playoff run.

Despite Ohio State playing two fewer games, Smith's production in 2025 still mirrored that of his 2024 season. He finished last season with 87 receptions for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns through the air while rushing for 21 yards and another touchdown.

Smith won Big Ten Wide Receiver of the Year and received All-Big Ten First Team honors in each of his first two seasons at Ohio State. He was a unanimous All-America selection by media outlets in 2025.

Meyer's point about wide receivers and the Heisman Trophy has truth to it, as only five have won the award in its 91-year history. Two of the five recipients, Desmond Howard (1991) and Travis Hunter (2024), were heavily featured in different phases of the game in addition to being wide receivers, something that helped their cases to win the award.

DeVonta Smith (2020) was the last wide receiver to win the Heisman Trophy without being heavily featured on defense or specialists, although he did return some punts when Alabama lost Jaylen Waddle to a fractured ankle. He caught 117 passes for 1,823 yards and 23 touchdowns in a season that was only 13 games in length.

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) celebrates a first down beside Miami Hurricanes defensive back Jakobe Thomas (8) | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images