How Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith Has Entered the Heisman Conversation

Drew Thirion|published: Sat 26th September, 21:18 2026

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) scores a touchdown during the NCAA football game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Sept. 26, 2026.

The Heisman race had started to feel like a two-horse race between Darian Mensah and Trinidad Chambliss. Those two had been the most exciting quarterbacks on two of the country's more prolific offenses, and they absolutely deserve to be in the conversation. With that being said, I’m not sure how you can watch college football and not come to the immediate conclusion that Jeremiah Smith is the best player in the country.

It’s more than just that when it comes to Smith. I feel that if you placed him in the NFL today, he would immediately be one of the best players in the league. Every time he steps onto the field for the Scarlet and Grey, he’s doing things that have never been done before. This Saturday’s matchup against Illinois might have been his most dominant yet.

Jeremiah Smith looked like the only guy on the field today as he torched the Illini to the tune of 12 catches, 217 yards, and 4 touchdowns. For the fantasy gurus out there, that’s a 57.7-point day for Smith. He nearly outgained Illinois receivers on his own.

When you’re watching an Ohio State game, it looks like defense, and Julian Sayin only seeing one person on the field, and it simply does not matter. Malachi Toney and KJ Duff have looked awesome this year for Miami and Rutgers but they don’t have anywhere near the gravity on offense that Smith has.

Miami has another weak game against Central Michigan on the schedule, so Toney might be able to have a big night, but as it stands, Smith leads or is tied for touchdowns, yards, and catches for a receiver. He’s done it against every level of competition this year, and he should absolutely be the Heisman favorite if it ended today.

Per the Heisman trophy website, the award is given out to the most outstanding player in American college football at the end of each year. Every week that I continue to watch Smith play at the college level, I feel that he is meeting and exceeding everything needed to win a Heisman. It’s not often when watching college football you get to see something special. Each weekend Smith plays at Ohio State, he breaks records, puts up gaudy stats, and makes you wonder how dominant he’ll be once he’s playing on Sundays.

After his four touchdown performance, Smith went from +1300 to win the Heisman to +300, so unless Chambliss and Mensah have all-worldly performances, you might’ve waited too long to bet on the best player in the nation.