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Urban Meyer shares prediction for 2025 Heisman Trophy winner

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Urban Meyer is making his early Heisman Trophy pick. The former Ohio State coach likes standout Buckeye WR Jeremiah Smith to win college football’s top individual award.

Meyer made his prediction on The Triple Option podcast with cohost Rob Stone. The pair looked at betting odds from BetMGM.

“Well, the best player in the country in maybe the last decade is Jeremiah Smith,” Meyer said. “He’s the best player. If I had to say it’s only +1200. Arch Manning’s No. 1 at +700 as far as the betting. I’m gonna say Jeremiah Smith’s gonna be the first receiver in a while to win the Heisman Trophy.”

Travis Hunter, the 2024 winner, was a standout wide receiver. But, Hunter was also an elite defensive back. It’s fair to categorize Hunter’s win as one for a 2-way player. Meyer implied Smith could win as a pure wide receiver, a la DeVonta Smith of Alabama in 2020.

Jeremiah Smith was one of the most sought-after recruits of the 2024 recruiting class and lived up to the 5-star hype with a sensational freshman season, helping Ohio State win the national championship. Smith led all Big Ten pass-catchers in receiving yards (1,315) and touchdowns (15) on 76 catches in 2024.

In OSU’s first 2 College Football Playoff wins over Tennessee and Oregon, Smith had 13 catches for 290 yards and 4 touchdowns. After Texas successfully contained him in semifinal, Smith bounced back in the CFP National Championship with 5 catches for 88 yards and 1 touchdown.

Meyer cautioned that Smith’s Heisman hopes will be tied to a No. 2 receiver emerging for Ohio State with Emeka Egbuka off to the NFL.

“I will say this though, for everyone to understand though. As important as a quarterback is, that is number one. But who’s the Emeka on the other side? You can take away a good receiver. You can’t take away two,” Meyer stated.

“When I had Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin (at Florida). When I had Terry McLaurin and Michael Thomas (at OSU). You can’t take away two because you can’t rotate the coverage. So, will Carnell Tate develop enough to take the heat off Jeremiah?” Meyer wondered aloud.

We’ll see how it plays out next fall.

 

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.