Wednesday marked early signing day for high school recruits across the country. Highly-touted future college football players signed to play for the likes of Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and other top programs. By Wednesday evening, most of the top-15 recruits had signed on, according to 247Sports’ and On3’s recruiting databases, with one crucial exception.
Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country, hadn’t confirmed his commitment to Ohio State.
The Chaminade-Madonna Prep wideout and top recruit caused a scare for the Buckeyes and their fans. Smith first committed to Ohio State in December 2022 and held a signing day ceremony in south Florida this afternoon.
But Smith hadn’t officially sent his letter of intent (LOI) to the Buckeyes after the ceremony. Hours passed after it finished and Ohio State didn’t confirm his signing, causing some questions.
Other programs like the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes had previously recruited Smith hard and there was speculation they’d convinced him to change after his verbal commitment. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened on this recruiting cycle; Miami had flipped four-star running back Jordan Lyle from the Buckeyes to the Hurricanes on Monday.
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All those worries and rumors were quelled shortly after 10:00 p.m., ET, when Ohio State confirmed on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Smith had signed his LOI.
Smith headlines the Buckeyes’ fourth-best recruiting class in the country per 247Sports rankings. Ohio State signed four top-50 players in the Class of 2024, including fellow wide receiver Mylan Graham (New Haven).
The Chaminade-Madonna wide receiver finished his prep career with more than 3,000 receiving yards. In his senior season, Smith had 88 catches for 1,376 yards and helped the Lions to a Florida state championship. 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins compared Smith to All-Pro NFL wide receiver Julio Jones, saying he ‘should be viewed as a future WR1 for a College Football Playoff contender that can handle a high-volume of targets and work a full route tree.’
He’ll help fill the shoes left by top wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. in Columbus as Harrison Jr. will likely be a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.