\n You probably already know a lot about Jeremiah Smith as a football player. Today at Eleven Warriors, we\u2019re giving you a glimpse into who Ohio State\u2019s superstar wide receiver is away from the football field. <\/p>\n
\n\tSmith\u2019s excellence on the gridiron is already well-known to anyone who\u2019s paid attention to college football for the past two years, especially Ohio State fans. The 6-foot-3, 223-pound wide receiver immediately became one of college football\u2019s biggest stars as a freshman, catching 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns during Ohio State\u2019s national championship season in 2024. He backed that up by catching 87 passes for 1,243 yards and 12 touchdowns last season, earning unanimous All-American honors and his second straight Big Ten Receiver of the Year Award.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSo when Eleven Warriors sat down with Smith for a one-on-one interview at Big Ten Media Days, we only asked a couple of questions about football \u2013 focusing on two of his most memorable moments from his first two years at Ohio State \u2013 before learning more about his life away from football, including his interests in chess and\u00a0video games, along with his favorite meals, TV show and music.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tWe also asked Smith some superlative questions about his Ohio State teammates \u2013 namely, who he\u2019d most and least want\u00a0to be stranded on a desert island with, and who the Buckeyes\u2019 funniest player is \u2013 and found out about some of his most exciting celebrity encounters as well as the person he most wants to meet.\n<\/p>\n
\tIGB gave Smith his\u00a0\u201cWelcome to Ohio State\u201d moment<\/p>\n
\n\tThinking back on when he first started his Ohio State career as a freshman in 2024, Smith said his \u201cWelcome to Ohio State\u201d moment came when he went head-to-head with former Buckeye cornerback Davison Igbinosun in practice for the first time.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWelcome to Ohio State moment had to be one-on-one lined up against IGB. He jumped in my chest, jammed me pretty good. So that was probably my Welcome to Ohio State moment,\u201d Smith said.\n<\/p>\n
\t3rd-and-Jeremiah remains top on-field highlight<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith\u2019s favorite on-field moment from his first two seasons as a Buckeye won\u2019t surprise you: His 56-yard catch on 3rd-and-11 to clinch Ohio State\u2019s win over Notre Dame in the 2024-25 national championship game.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cMy favorite moment gotta be 3rd-and-11 in the national championship game. Got to be that one, for sure,\u201d Smith said.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\tA lowkey life away from football<\/p>\n
\n\tAs the biggest star in college football, Smith can\u2019t go anywhere in Columbus without being recognized \u2013 which he admits can get tiresome, even though he appreciates all the support he gets from Buckeye fans.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt’s pretty crazy. I mean, everywhere I go, people notice me, want to take pictures. So it’s pretty special that people know who I am and stuff like that,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAfter a while it gets old. I mean, since my freshman year, before I even stepped on the field, even played a snap, people were asking for pictures and bombarding me anytime I go out, so it’s pretty old at this point.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAs such, Smith usually spends his time relaxing at home when he has a day off from football.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cVideo games, watching shows, not really doing too much, for real,\u201d Smith said when asked what his favorite off-day activities are. \u201cJust enjoying my time in the house, because I’m barely home, so just enjoying my time in the house.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tDays off are about to be few and far between for Smith and his Buckeye teammates as Ohio State prepares to start preseason camp on Thursday. That said, Smith tries to take advantage of the opportunity to rest and decompress when he has downtime.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah, for sure, definitely,\u201d Smith said. \u201cGet my mind off of football for a couple days or however long we get off from break, because when we get back to the season, it’s just non-stop football, football, football, football, football, non-stop for six to eight months, eight to 10 months. So I mean, definitely when that time comes, when we have it off, I take my time and enjoy it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\tOhio State\u2019s best virtual football player, too?<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith said his favorite video game to play is EA Sports College Football. Asked who the best EA Sports College Football player on the team is, Smith paused to think before laughing and saying himself.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah, I’m pretty good, pretty decent,\u201d Smith said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked who the worst EA Sports College Football player on the team is, Smith answered much more quickly.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI’d say probably Nolan Baudo,\u201d Smith said, referencing Ohio State\u2019s well-liked fourth-year walk-on wide receiver.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith says he sometimes plays with Ohio State in the video game, but not always. Smith\u2019s other favorite teams to play with in EA Sports College Football include the team Ohio State beat in the national championship game two seasons ago, and the team the Buckeyes will face in Week 2 of this season.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI play with Ohio State, but I play with a lot of different teams. You would be surprised. I’ve been playing a lot with Notre Dame. Notre Dame is pretty good. Their defense is pretty special. Texas as well. Really, I’ve been rotating with them through us, Texas, and Notre Dame.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tDoes playing with the Longhorns make Smith think about the Buckeyes\u2019 pending road trip to Austin in September?\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYeah, I do, I be thinking about it like that,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe\u2019re about to be playing in Texas in a\u00a0month or two, so, yeah, it’s pretty special.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\tChess sharpens Smith\u2019s mental game<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked to name something that people wouldn\u2019t know about him that he\u2019d want people to know, Smith said it might surprise people that he enjoys playing chess.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat’s probably the one thing a lot of people probably don’t know about me, I play chess. I’m not going to say I’m the best, but I’m pretty decent,\u201d Smith said.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith believes the strategy that chess requires applies to many areas of life, including the football field.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt’s a thinking man’s game. You have to think, make the right moves. I think it applies to life a lot, really,\u201d Smith said. \u201cI think chess definitely translates to the mental side of football. You have to think before you move. Things like that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\tChicken, steak dinners among Smith\u2019s favorite meals<\/p>\n
\n\tIf Smith could only have one meal for the rest of his life, he says his plate would consist of chicken, macaroni and cheese, yams, collard greens and corn bread.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith says his favorite restaurant in Columbus is Butcher & Rose. Ohio State took the Buckeyes to the downtown Columbus steakhouse for a team outing this summer, and Smith said those outings are one of his favorite parts of being a Buckeye.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI’d say probably when we do our team bonding things,\u201d Smith said when asked about his favorite moments as a Buckeye off the field. \u201cThat’s really probably the biggest thing, just going out to eat with all the guys. Just enjoying time with each other, spending time with each other, talking about different things, stuff like that.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\tSmith watches Netflix thrillers, listens to old-school rap<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith said his favorite TV show to watch right now is Fool Me Once, a crime thriller series on Netflix.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s pretty crazy,\u201d Smith said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of stuff going on.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tSmith said he doesn\u2019t have any gameday superstitions, but he does always listen to music before games. His favorite artists to listen to before games include rappers Lil Durk, Tupac and DMX.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI’m an old school guy on game day, really,\u201d Smith said.\n<\/p>\n
\tKenyatta Jackson, James Smith highlight teammate superlatives<\/p>\n
\n\tIf Smith was stranded on a desert island, which of his Ohio State teammates would he want by his side? Smith went with fifth-year senior defensive end Kenyatta Jackson, who he was also high school teammates with at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI need somebody that\u2019s gonna crack jokes and be serious and funny at the same time. I’d say Kenyatta Jackson,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe’re kind of the same type of person. We could both figure things out. Cool, calm and collected. So yeah, probably Kenyatta.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked who he wouldn\u2019t want to be stranded with, Smith went with another fifth-year senior, starting center Carson Hinzman.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHe be trippin\u2019 sometimes,\u201d Smith said, laughing. \u201cSo Carson for sure. No Carson.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked who\u2019s the funniest player on the team, Smith didn\u2019t hesitate with his answer of fourth-year defensive tackle James Smith, who transferred to Ohio State from Alabama this summer.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cJames Smith, without a doubt,\u201d Jeremiah Smith said. \u201cThe things he says, the things he does, when we be up there talking for like hours after we’re done working out; you can ask anybody on the team, they would probably say James Smith, for sure.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\tMichael Thomas, DJ Khaled among famous encounters<\/p>\n
\n\tAsked who\u2019s the coolest person he\u2019s had the opportunity to meet during his Buckeye career, Smith went with another legendary Ohio State wide receiver: Michael Thomas, who set the NFL single-season receptions record with 149 catches and earned NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2019 after starring for the Buckeyes from 2012-15, also helping Ohio State win a national championship in 2014.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tOutside of football, Smith said the coolest person he\u2019s had the chance to meet is DJ Khaled, whom he met earlier this year while attending F1\u2019s Miami Grand Prix.\n<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI really met a lot of people down there, really, but I’d probably say DJ Khaled,\u201d Smith said.\n<\/p>\n