Ryan Day confirms starter role for 5-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith

Jeremiah Smith will be a Week 1 starter for Ohio State when the Buckeyes face off against Akron this weekend.

Head coach Ryan Day confirmed that news on Tuesday morning at his press conference. Asked if Smith would start the game even with Ohio State’s deep stable of wide receiver talent, Day replied simply: “Yes.”

Smith was widely considered to be the No. 1 prospect in the entire country for the class of 2024. A potential generational receiver prospect, Smith was the No. 1 overall recruit in the country for the class of 2024, per 247Sports Composite rankings. Ohio State held off a late charge from Miami to earn his signature on signing day.

Ohio State has routinely produced elite wide receivers for the last several years, but even the best of the best rarely start as true freshman. Garrett Wilson, for example, didn’t start any games during his true freshman season. Jaxon Smith-Njigba only caught 10 passes his freshman year. Marvin Harrison Jr. didn’t start during the regular season of his freshman campaign, either.

Smith will be part of a wide receiver room that has big expectations in 2024. Even with Harrison departing for the NFL, the Buckeyes project to have one of the better wide receiving corps in the country. Emeka Egbuka, Carnell Tate and Brandon Inniss are all set to have bigger roles this fall.

Amongst other topics, Day also broke down Ohio State’s running back depth chart and said true freshman James Peoples will see time along with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins.

Ohio State will host Akron at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are favored by 49.5 points over the Zips, per FanDuel.