Tag: Jeremiah Smith

Watch: Ohio State wide receiver commit Jeremiah Smith catches one-handed touchdown

WOW!!! The Buckeyes are reloading at wide receiver once again #GoBucks

It’s a really safe bet to say that [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s wide receiver room is going to be churning out high level talent for the foreseeable future.

The group known around Columbus as Zone 6 is bringing in another elite group of prospects in the 2024 recruiting class headlined by Florida’s [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag].

On Thursday night, Smith’s Chaminade high school team played on ESPN and they didn’t disappoint. All of their touchdowns were scored in the first half, relying on their defense to hold on to secure the win.

Smith had a good game, highlighted by this ridiculous one-handed touchdown grab which you can see below.

Up first, the broadcast angle.

Now for the sideline shot, which gives you a much better view.

Smith is now ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings in the 2024 class and he’s he’ll be in a scarlet and gray uniform. It should be fun.

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Highlights: Chaminade-Madonna takes down Miami Central in fight of top-5 teams

Chaminade-Madonna football staved off Miami Central in a game with explosive first-half offenses and then dominant second-half defenses.

The high school football scheduling overlords blessed us early in the season with heavy hitters facing off on Thursday, a national matchup between two top-5 teams in the Super 25 as No. 3 Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.) took on cross-town Miami Central (Fla.)

The Chaminade-Madonna Lions staved off the Central Rockets with a 31-28 that consisted of a high-powered offensive dual in the first half, defensive dominance from both sides in the second, and a weather delay that forced a pause of almost two hours.

The teams combined for 52 points in the first half as Chaminade-Madonna quarterback Cedrick Bailey, a North Carolina State commit, passed for four touchdowns, two of which were caught by five-star Ohio State commit Jeremiah Smith. On the other hand, the Rockets went to the ground, as three players rushed for touchdowns. At one point, Central held the lead but finished the half trailing 31-21.

Central shut out Chaminade-Madonna in the second half. The team could barely make up any ground because the Lions’ defense matched them step-for-step, trading interceptions and punishing offensive players.

The Rockets managed a third-quarter touchdown, but neither team scored in the fourth quarter and Central spoiled the chance to tie with a missed 26-yard field goal attempt.

In the end, after an explosive first half, the defense sealed the game. Three-star Chaminade-Madonna safety Curtis Janiver, a Florida Atlantic commit, had two interceptions, including one with less than a minute and a half remaining to put the game away.

Chaminade-Madonna maintained its spot as the best team in Florida and improved its record to 5-0 as Central fell to a 1-2 record that completely misses the mark on how good of a team it is — its two losses are both to top-3 teams, with this three-point defeat at the hands of the Lions and a four-point loss to No. 2 Bishop Gorman.

Central’s schedule is brutal. Chaminade-Madonna made a case as not just a top-3 team but maybe a top-2 or top-1. Once again, thank you to the schedule overseers for putting this rotation together.

SCORES:

National

Super 25

After Thursday night, is future Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith the No. 1 player in the nation?

Ohio State football commit Jeremiah Smith was tremendous again on Thursday night.

It’s time to have a real conversation that Ohio State football commit Jeremiah Smith might be the top recruit in the nation. The future Buckeyes wide receiver is turning in big performance after big performance.

And, after Thursday night, Smith has had yet another big performance in a battle of two teams ranked in the USA TODAY HSS Super 25 football rankings.

A class of 2024 recruit, Smith was tremendous on Thursday night for No. 3 Chaminade (Holywood, Florida) in a 31-28 win over No. 5 Miami Central (Miami, Florida).

The five-star wide receiver had two touchdown catches including a spectacular one-handed grab where he showed incredible coordination and body control.

It is hard to not begin thinking of Smith as possibly the top recruit in the nation. Not only are his statistics gaudy (he came into the game with 516 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the season’s first four games) but he is consistently making big plays.

These are the kind of plays that project well to the Big Ten and Ohio State next year.

 

Smith isn’t simply overpowering opposition, as top recruits often do at this level. He is playing at a different level with uncontested catches but also repeated instances of battling for balls and coming down with clutch catches.

He is using the entirety of his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame as well as his great length to make the kind of catches that he will need to make on Saturdays next fall.

A consensus five-star recruit, three recruiting services have Smith as the second-best player in the nation. There is only one outlier as ESPN has Smith as the ninth-best recruit in this class.

But if Smith hasn’t already made a convincing case, he could very well be the No. 1 recruit in the nation by the time signing day rolls around.

Ohio State football recruiting update: Monster game, commitments wavering, and more

Jeremiah Smith goes off, two commits wearing non-Ohio State gear?!? #GoBucks

The high school football season is well underway, and it’s time to check in with what is happening with [autotag]Ohio State football[/autotag]’s commitments and targets.

The Buckeyes have the second-best recruiting class in the country, and the top group in the conference. They trail Georgia in the race for the mythical recruiting national championship. There are still a few spots open to add players.

In this update, we look at who performed well during this past weekend’s games, a pair of current commitments who were seen wearing other team’s gear and a look at a top target that might be trending elsewhere.

Jeremiah Smith is putting on a show tonight for Chaminade

Five-star Jeremiah Smith is dominating on Friday night against Bergen Catholic.

Jeremiah Smith is making a statement to be the nation’s top high school football player, putting together a crisp and impressive performance on Friday night. The Ohio State football commit has lived up to the hype, and then some.

No. 5 Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Opa Locka, Florida) is putting on an absolute clinic at home, going up 40-7 at halftime against No. 20 Bergen Catholic (Oradell, New Jersey). And Chaminade-Madonna is being paced by their talented wide receiver, who is backing up his high national ranking.

Through the first three quarters, Smith had 16 catches for 316 yards with three touchdowns before being pulled from the game.  That he is doing this against a team ranked in the USA TODAY HSS Super 25 is borderline absurd.

 

The five-star recruit, who is committed to Ohio State, Smith is ranked the second-best player in the nation according to 247Sports. His output in one half against Bergen Catholic is certainly impressive.

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But what Smith is showing in this game goes beyond the gaudy numbers. His route running is crisp and fluid. He gets in and out of his breaks and he accelerates almost effortlessly, catching the ball in stride and then hitting another level of speed in the open field.

Florida remains in the running for 5-star Ohio State WR commit

It seems like a long-shot for the best recruit in the 2024 cycle but the Gators still have a chance.

The top wide receiver and arguably the No. 1 prep prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag], is committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes but has declined to shut down his recruitment with months to go before the early signing period.

“I don’t think it’s going to be shut down ’til national signing day,” Smith told 247Sports Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins regarding his recruitment.

While OSU remains the overwhelming favorite for the five-star pass-catcher out of Opa Locka (Florida) Chaminade-Madonna Prep, he still has an interest in a trio of Sunshine State schools: Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes. But there is a steep hill to climb for the 6-foot-3-inch, 198-pound receiver’s signature.

“Everybody’s telling me the same things,” Smith said. “Nobody telling me nothing different. I’m a stick with Ohio State right now.”

Nonetheless, the Orange and Blue have a couple of things going their way. Smith is enamored both with the Gators’ 2024 five-star quarterback as well as the coaching staff.

“Florida, I know they have a great quarterback in my class coming in DJ Lagway,” he noted, adding that he is also locked in with head coach Billy Napier and wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales.

The high school senior stopped in Gainesville most recently at the end of July to work out with Lagway — his third visit of the summer, including an official visit in June, and fourth overall.

Smith is ranked No. 2 overall and No. 1 at his position nationally according to the 247Sports composite while the On3 industry ranking has him at the No. 1 player overall in the 2024 cycle.

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Watch: Ohio State football commits in action during opening week

Multiple future Buckeyes had standout performances #GoBucks

This past weekend was the beginning of high school football and our first glimpse at Ohio State football commitments back in action.

We already highlighted 2026 wide receiver commit Chris Henry Jr., but that was because he played on Thursday when not many other teams were on the gridiron. It wasn’t just Henry Jr. that got some earlier love, 2024 quarterback Air Noland was on the national spotlight and helped lead his team to a huge season opening win.

The majority of the rest of the class got their seasons started on Friday and Saturday and here are some of the top performances from Ohio State commits.

Nation’s top WR at Florida for first day of training camp

The Florida Gators are still trying to flip five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State, and they’ve got him back on campus for the first day of training camp.

The top player in the class of 2024, wide receiver [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag], is back in Gainesville, and he’s spending the day observing Florida’s first day of fall training camp with his friend (and UF commit) DJ Lagway.

Smith, an Ohio State commit, arrived in Gainesville on Sunday afternoon for a two-day visit, according to Gators Online. Lagway’s role is to make him feel comfortable at UF. The two have developed a friendship over the past couple of months, and Lagway wants Smith to catch his passes in college.

Flipping him won’t be an easy task, though. Back in April, former Florida quarterback commit Austin Simmons told Gators Wire that he was optimistic about Smith’s chances of flipping. The two are from the same area, but this is a recruitment that will likely remain competitive until December.

Right now, Ohio State still has him locked up, but there’s a clear interest from Smith when it comes to the in-state schools. Smith is coming off a visit to Florida State, according to Gators Online, so being close to home could end up being a difference-maker.

Smith is a consensus five-star recruit, ranked No. 1 or No. 2 overall everywhere but ESPN, where he is still a top-10 player in his class. The On3 industry ranking has him at No. 1 overall in the class of 2024.

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Florida hosting 5-star Ohio State WR commit to kick off fall camp

Florida will host one of the top wide receivers in the class of 2024 on the first day of fall training camp.

Five-star wide receiver [autotag]Jeremiah Smith[/autotag] is still committed to Ohio State, but the Florida Gators are continuing their push to flip the top recruit in the class of 2024.

Smith will be back in Gainesville to visit the Gators at the start of fall camp on Monday, according to Swamp247. He most recently visited the Swamp in late June for a 7-on-7 tournament. Getting Smith on campus during training camp should give him a closer look at what practices are like under Florida’s coaching staff.

Quarterback commit DJ Lagway will be in town to help recruit Smith. The two have already openly discussed a desire to play together.

A South Florida talent (Chaminade-Maddona Preparatory School in Broward County), Smith is still looking at Florida, Florida State and Miami despite being committed to OSU for over seven months. Flipping him will not be easy, but the Gators are getting opportunities to lay the groundwork.

Smith is a consensus five-star recruit, ranked No. 1 or No. 2 overall everywhere but ESPN. The On3 industry ranking has him at No. 1 overall as a result, so this would be a massive flip.

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23 prospects to watch during ESPN’s 2023 High School Football Kickoff

Here are the top 23 prospects to watch, going by ESPN’s rankings.

ESPN will be broadcasting seven games during the first week of the 2023 season as the GEICO ESPN Football Kickoff enters its 14th year. The first will take place on Friday, August 18, when two Georgia powerhouses face off as Langston Hughes visits Carrollton.

The following Friday, there’s Saraland (Ala.) hosting Lipscomb Academy (Tenn.), then on Saturday the 26th, there’s a ton of games. The showcase ends on Sunday, the 27th, with Our Lady of Good Counsel (Md.) vs. St. Edward (Ohio). You can find the complete schedule here.

This will be our first chance to see the top recruits in the nation playing this season. Here are the top 23 prospects to watch, going by ESPN’s rankings.