Thorpe winner Jahdae Barron leading Texas’ physical attack against Ohio State super freshman Jeremiah Smith

Smith has really shined in the College Football Playoffs. He had 103 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee in the first round. Then, Smith put up a season-high 187 yards and two more scores against Oregon. The Ducks simply couldn’t stop him as Smith averaged 26.7 yards on seven catches.

If defenses lock in on Smith, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard can look for Emeka Egbuka, who has 896 receiving yards this season. Few teams have two receivers with double-digit touchdown catches. Smith has 14 this season while Egbuka has 10.

“It’s going to be an amazing opportunity to go against him,” Barron said. “You know, that kid can ball. He’s a big baller. Strong, strong ability. He’s a deep threat. They love to get him the ball, and they love to create opportunities to get him the ball. But it’ll be a great challenge for him and also for the other receivers they have.”

Barron and his defensive mates simply don’t see receivers this big on a week-to-week basis.

Barron said he doesn’t really alter his game that much just because the receiver lining up across from him is bigger physically. Barron is listed at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, for comparison.

“Everybody, once they go in the game, you’ve got to play your game,” Barron said. “You can’t change your game based on somebody else to get out of your position on how you play and things like that. So just being enamored with my game and how I do things.

“Also, the game’s a physical game. He’s a physical player, and I’ll have to be physical. I’m a physical player myself. I think that's the that's the great thing about football, I've been having an opportunity to go against amazing players. So it'll just be a fun opportunity.”

Barron will have safety help, obviously. Taaffe, Barron, Andrew Mukuba and Malik Muhammad make up a secondary that has the third-best pass defense in the nation.

That said, Texas allowed four passing touchdowns during the regular season. The Horns have allowed four the last two weeks in the College Football Playoffs.

Still, the Horns aren’t worried about what’s happened previous, only stopping Smith and the Buckeyes.

“He’s got good catch radius,” Mukuba said. “He can make a lot of crazy catches. Good speed, good route runner. Kid is very special. I see him on film do some crazy things, run past people, jump over people, those sorts of things.

“He’s a good player, for sure, and he’s very special.”