COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just seconds after Miami had officially clinched a College Football Playoff win over Texas A&M on Saturday, Ohio State’s star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith posted something on social media that perfectly summed up his personality.
He posted a purple devil emoji as his latest example of how a man of so few words can still say so much.
The Buckeyes had been sitting around since a 13-10 loss to Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 6, waiting for the playoff to start. They were the beneficiaries of a bye, meaning they were one of four teams that’d be spending the first weekend as spectators waiting to find out who their opponent was.
That post at 3:42 pm this past Saturday was an acknowledgment that OSU’s first CFP target had officially been acquired. What he chose to post was an acknowledgment of how personal that first target is to him.
“A lot of guys on this Miami team I played with or played against in high school, ” Smith said. “I know I have to keep my emotions very high because it’s gonna be a little chippiness out there. I know Coach (Ryan) Day, Coach (Brian) Hartline and everybody’s gonna tell me to keep my emotions in check and don’t get a 15-yard penalty.”
There are plenty of people associated with the University of Miami, whether as a coach, administrator, player, or fan, who probably think that Smith is supposed to be a Hurricane. They aren’t off base to feel that way.
He grew up in Miami Gardens, a city located 30 minutes from Miami’s campus and seven minutes from where it plays its games at Hard Rock Stadium.
That environment is what turned him into the can’t-miss 2024 prospect who quickly took college football by storm as a freshman and has since become the sport’s unquestioned best player.
Yet when it came time for that generational talent to choose a school, he opted for Columbus over his hometown in December 2022. Then, despite every possible effort, he doubled down on that decision a year later on Signing Day.
And he’s not the only Buckeye who did so.
“Actually, they don’t like it,” OSU wide receiver Brandon Inniss said during fall camp. “They wanted us to go to Miami so bad. The young guys down there, they like it. Not so much the older fans. Me and JJ have played against each other all our lives.”
Smith, Inniss and defensive lineman Kenyatta Jackson all said no to being part of Miami coach Mario Cristobal’s rebuilding project at home, and up until this moment, it was never even a question of whether that was the right choice.
But everything eventually comes full circle, and the decisions these players made as teenagers are about to stare them back in the face on Dec. 31 in the Cotton Bowl playoff quarterfinal.
They might already feel validated in their choices as players who became captains and can walk around with national championship rings on their fingers.
The Hurricanes have spent that same time proving that they could still rebuild without them. But the Buckeyes get to show them in person what they missed out on.
“He’ll be wired this week, that’s for sure,” Day said. “He’s gonna be fired up. Brandon Inniss will be fired up. Kenyatta Jackson. These guys, they know a lot of the players on the other team and they’ve gotta lot of guys on their team that we recruited, so it’s gonna be great.”