Jeremiah Smith tabs Ohio State WR as ‘next one up’ for Buckeyes

Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith knows all about serving as the up-and-coming star for a key program. Now, he’s ready to tab a youngster as the next breakout star for the Buckeyes.

Last season, Smith lived up to the hype as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. The elite 5-star talent from Florida served as a Day 1 starter for Ohio State, quickly becoming a go-to target for quarterback Will Howard.

Throughout his freshman season, Smith rewrote Ohio State’s freshman record books with 76 catches for 1,315 yards and 16 total touchdowns. He even came through in the clutch, recording the game-sealing catch in Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame to give Ryan Day his first title as a head coach.

So, what has Smith seen from Ohio State’s freshman class? On Tuesday, the receiver met with the media and tabbed one youngster as the next in line to breakout for the Buckeyes.

That player is Quincy Porter, a 5-star receiver and the top player out of the state of New Jersey for 2025 per the 247 Sports Composite. Smith particularly pointed to Porter’s size and work ethic as a young star who “kept his head down, just working.”

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Ohio State is fortunate to have Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate returning as a dynamic 1-2 punch this fall. However, the departure of Emeka Egbuka opens up plenty of opportunities for younger players to make a case as the No. 3 WR option.

We’ll see if Porter is indeed ready to make some kind of instant impact this fall.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.