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Jeremiah Smith shares the downside of his rapid Ohio State stardom
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Jeremiah Smith is already 1 of college football’s biggest stars, if not its biggest star, with his meteoric rise all happening before the age of 20.
Smith will still be a teenager for most of his sophomore season this fall, and by the time his 20th birthday arrives on Nov. 29, his stardom will likely have gone up another few notches. The phenom from South Florida is coming off 1 of the best freshman seasons in Ohio State history, when he caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns in helping the Buckeyes capture the 2024 national title.
Naturally, Smith made the catch late in that national championship victory over Notre Dame that put the game away. He was scintillating last season, he was clutch, and the college football world is waiting to see what Smith will do for an encore in 2025.
Smith has already achieved supreme fame in Columbus, and that’s wonderful for him. But there is a price to fame, and for Smith, that means some things that are normal for teenagers to do aren’t so easy for Smith.
On Friday, as Ohio State fall camp got going, Smith talked about what his unusual life is like.
“I’m still young. I’m still trying to figure it out. It’s kind of hard. I like to go out, shopping and stuff, but being here (in Columbus), I can’t really do that,” Smith said. “It’s been pretty hard for me because I like to go out and shop. I’ve been doing that since I was a little kid. Every time my friends go to the grocery store, I always would go.”
Well, now things have changed for the teen sensation. Life has changed.
Smith is still getting used to his new reality, and with each catch and touchdown this fall, things will likely only get crazier for college football’s phenom.