It took Jeremiah Smith less than three full seasons to rewrite Ohio State’s receiving record book.
He passed Michael Jenkins for the program’s career receiving yards record against Kent State. Two weeks later at Iowa, he broke the career marks for receptions and receiving touchdowns on the same afternoon.
Through 34 games, he has 207 catches, 3,381 yards and 36 touchdowns, all the most in Ohio State history. This is a program that has produced Cris Carter, David Boston, Michael Thomas, Garrett Wilson,
Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
Smith is already ahead of every one of them.
So the question isn’t really about Ohio State anymore. It’s about the Big Ten, and how many of the conference’s records Smith takes with him before he leaves for the NFL.
One note before getting into the numbers — every total below is a full career or season total, bowl and playoff games included.
The career records
Receiving touchdowns: The record belongs to Michigan’s Braylon Edwards, who caught 39 from 2001 to 2004. Smith needs three to tie it and four to pass it.
He’s averaging nearly two touchdown catches a game this season, and Maryland, a 34.5-point underdog, comes to Columbus on Saturday. My prediction, he ties it against Maryland and breaks it the following week at Indiana on Oct. 17.
Receiving yards: The record belongs to Purdue’s John Standeford, who finished with 3,788 yards from 2000 to 2003. Smith is 407 yards short.
He’s averaging almost 165 yards a game, so getting there by Indiana isn’t out of the question. Realistically, though, he probably doesn’t play four full quarters against Maryland, and Indiana won’t make it easy.
My prediction — he breaks it at USC on Halloween, in the Coliseum.
Receptions: This is the one that may survive. Purdue’s Taylor Stubblefield caught 325 passes from 2001 to 2004, including bowl games, and it’s still the Big Ten record. Smith has 207, so he’s 118 short.
At nearly nine catches a game, he’d need 13 or 14 more games. Even with a Big Ten title game and a deep playoff run, Ohio State tops out at 11 more games this season. Unless Smith comes back for his senior year, which is just not going to happen, I think Stubblefield keeps this one.
It’s also worth remembering how long the record holders took.
Edwards, Standeford and Stubblefield each played four seasons in the Big Ten. Smith is about to pass two of them in less than three.
The single season records
The career marks are the headline, but Smith is also on pace to take down a couple of the conference’s single-season records this year.
Receiving yards in a season: The Big Ten record is 1,606, set by Jaxon Smith-Njigba in 2021, including his 347 yard Rose Bowl performance. Smith has 823 through five games, so he needs 784 more to break it.
Even if he cools off to around 130 yards a game against tougher Big Ten defenses, he gets there around the Nov. 21 game at Nebraska. My prediction is Nebraska, with Michigan as the backup.
Receiving touchdowns in a season: Desmond Howard caught 19 touchdowns in his 1991 Heisman season at Michigan, and it’s still the Big Ten record. Terry Glenn’s 17 in 1995 is the Ohio State record. Smith already has nine.
He needs 10 more to tie Howard and 11 to break it, with seven regular-season games left. My prediction is that he passes Glenn sometime in November and breaks Howard’s record against Michigan on Nov. 28.
It’s hard to imagine a better way to do it than taking a Michigan legend’s record in The Game.
Receptions in a season: This one is a longer shot. Purdue’s Chris Daniels caught 121 passes in 1999, including Purdue’s bowl game, and Rondale Moore’s 114 in 2018 is right behind him. Smith has 44 and is on pace for roughly 105 over the regular season.
If Ohio State plays in the Big Ten title game and makes a playoff run, those extra games give him a real chance. My prediction, if this one is to happen, it happens deep in the College Football Playoff.
The best Big Ten receiver ever?
There’s always some risk in comparing players across eras.
Schedules are longer than they were when Howard, Anthony Carter or Edwards were playing, and passing numbers are bigger. But Smith isn’t just piling up numbers because of the era. He won a national championship as a true freshman, set the FBS freshman records for receiving yards and touchdowns, and was a unanimous All-American as a sophomore.
Now he’s the Heisman favorite as a junior, with back-to-back 200 yard games and the nation’s lead in catches, yards and touchdowns. He’s producing at this level against defenses built entirely around stopping him.
By the time Ohio State’s season ends, Smith will almost certainly own the Big Ten’s career records for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, and he’ll probably own one or two single-season marks as well. He’ll have done it in three seasons instead of four, with a national title on his resume and possibly a Heisman Trophy too.
At that point, I don’t think the debate will be very close. Jeremiah Smith is on pace to be the best wide receiver the Big Ten has ever seen, and he may get there with room to spare.
