Preseason All-American teams are always part projection, part reputation, and part, “who already proved it on a national stage.”
Ohio State has plenty of candidates for 2026, but the list really starts with two names who have already lived in the sport’s biggest conversations.
First team lock: Jeremiah Smith
If you’re building a preseason first team, Jeremiah Smith is the easiest Ohio State player on the board. He’s already produced like a national award finalist in back to back seasons, and the volume and efficiency both scream
All-American.
Smith followed his monster 2024 line (76 catches, 1,315 yards, 16 TDs) with 87 catches for 1,243 yards and 12 TDs in 2025, even while defenses treated him like the weekly No. 1 problem to solve.
Preseason teams love three things, elite production, highlight plays, and name recognition. Smith checks all of them, and he’s doing it in an offense that will again be on national TV basically every week. If Ohio State has a written in pen first team guy, it’s him.
The quarterback case: Julian Sayin, with one obstacle
Julian Sayin already has the exact credentials that drive preseason All America voting, he was in the Heisman mix and ended 2025 as an AP All-American selection (second team). He also has the clean statistical profile voters gravitate toward, high completion rate, big yardage, big touchdowns. Reuters had him at 3,610 passing yards, 32 TDs, 8 INTs, and a 77% completion rate.
The only real hang up for “first team” is the position itself. There are always too many QB candidates, and the 2026 preseason conversation is going to be crowded, including the types of names that voters will love to rank in August, like Arch Manning.
Still, Sayin is absolutely in the first team argument from day one, and at worst he’s the kind of player who lands on preseason second team lists and can force his way up with another heisman campaign season.
The trench star who should be in the conversation: Austin Siereveld
If you’re looking for the Ohio State lineman with the best chances to be in these conversations, it’s Austin Siereveld. He started all 14 games at left tackle in 2025 and earned second team All Big Ten honors. That matters because preseason All-American teams often reward known quantities up front, especially guys who were already decorated the previous year and return as multi year starters.
The other reason Siereveld fits the preseason mold, position flexibility. If Ohio State slides him back inside to guard, which many would consider his more natural position, interior OL spots can be easier to crack nationally than tackle depending on the year’s depth. Either way, he’s the Buckeye lineman most likely to be on multiple preseason All-American lists.
The could get there tier: Terry Moore, Earl Little Jr., Jermaine Matthews Jr., Bo Jackson
This is where projection gets tricky, because preseason honors at defensive back and running back tend to be driven as much by visibility and counting stats as by on-field impact.
Ohio State’s portal additions in the secondary bring real resume value, with Earl Little Jr. arriving as a proven ACC level veteran and Terry Moore carrying an all-conference foundation that can quickly turn into preseason momentum if spring buzz is strong and the Buckeyes are viewed as an elite defense again.
Jermaine Matthews Jr. fits a different profile. He feels like the kind of corner who could play like an All-American but may never be voted like one, as corners often need national spotlight games and signature matchups to fully break through.
Bo Jackson already sits firmly on the radar after a 1,000-yard freshman season, but running back is one of the most crowded positions nationally, and preseason teams often default to backs with massive yardage and touchdown totals as well as pre-established hype.
Still, if Ohio State is viewed as a national title contender, Jackson’s name will be part of every preseason conversation.
Dark horse: Connor Hawkins (and why it’s realistic)
If Ohio State’s surprise preseason All-American candidate is anyone, it might be the kicker. Connor Hawkins came over from Baylor after going 18 for 22 on field goals (81.8%), perfect on PATs (37 for 37), and 3 for 4 from 50 plus, with a long of 54.
Kickers crack preseason All America teams when two things are true: (1) they’re already trusted from distance, and (2) they’re attached to a high visibility team that creates high leverage kicks. Hawkins has the leg and the numbers.
If his range and reliability translate into offseason buzz and early watch lists, the “dark horse” conversation can shift quickly toward serious preseason recognition.
So how many preseason first teamers does Ohio State get?
If I’m calling it today, Ohio State’s most likely preseason first team All-American is Jeremiah Smith. After that, Sayin and Siereveld are the two most plausible to rise into first team status depending on which outlet you’re reading and how the QB and OL fields shake out.
For everyone else, the safer projection right now is just outside the preseason All-American cut, but that line is thinner than it looks. Ohio State proved in 2025 that when the program is operating at the highest level, individual recognition follows quickly, with four Buckeyes landing on the AP First Team in 2025.
That kind of national credibility has a way of bleeding into preseason ballots, and if expectations remain sky-high, it wouldn’t take much for a few more names to push their way into the conversation.
