Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith Sets Priorities Straight Amid Heisman Buzz

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nate Lunak | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 1:00 PM ET

There's no doubt that it was an amazing 2024 season for the Ohio State Buckeyes, which was capped off with a national championship win, defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23.

Much of the team's success fell onto the shoulders of true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, who now enters 2025 with some extremely high expectations, as ESPN BET ties him for the second-best odds (+900) to win the Heisman Trophy.

There's no doubt that winning that kind of award would be amazing, but while talking to The Athletic's Manny Navarro, the young wide receiver revealed what he's most looking to accomplish next season.

“I’m just trying to win another natty — that’s what I’m focused on,” Smith said. “All the other individual accolades will come after that.”

Continuing the same success certainly isn't out of the cards for Ohio State, as it currently sits at No. 4 on ESPN's FPI, behind the Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide.

Smith, who last season appeared in 16 games, accumulating 76 receptions, 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, has the potential to play one of the biggest roles in the team's success going into 2025.

However, winning it all once again could be viewed as a big ask, considering that only three have been crowned national champions in back-to-back seasons since 1980, with the most recent occurrence being Georgia in 2021 and 2022.

Smith and Ohio State's hopes of joining that list will be tested very early on, as they host the Longhorns for a Week 1 matchup, with ESPN BET placing them as three-point favorites.

Even if the Buckeyes do fall short, though, Smith potentially becoming just the sixth wide receiver in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy would serve as a nice consolation prize.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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