From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about hype. What are you most hyped about heading into the 2026-27 season? You can catch up on all of the
Theme Week content here and all of our ”Hype Week” articles here.Jeremiah Smith is going to shatter the Ohio State career records for receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns with the Buckeyes this season.
There’s no question that he is poised to
do that, and when he does, he is going to go down as the greatest receiver in Ohio State history and one of the greatest wide receivers of the last 50 years in college football.
Through two seasons, Smith has 163 receptions for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns. Those are incredible numbers. Smith’s 163 receptions are already fifth all-time in Buckeyes’ history. Emeka Egbuka holds the record with 205. That means Smith needs 42 more receptions. Easy.
Already sixth all-time with 2,558 receiving yards, Smith needs just 310 to match Egbuka’s record of 2,868 yards. Again, easy.
Chris Olave holds the school record with 35 touchdowns. Smith is currently fifth with 27. Again, easy. Smith has 15 and 12 touchdowns, respectively, in his first two seasons.
For the record, no pun intended, Jaxon Smith-Njigba holds the single-season records with 95 receptions and 1,606 yards in 2021. Keep in mind, 15 of those receptions and 347 of those receiving yards came in the Rose Bowl that season. Terry Glenn holds the single-season record with 17 touchdowns.
It’s not inconceivable to think that Smith could break the single-season receiving records in addition to the career receiving records. But more than that, and the career receiving records, Smith has the potential to be remembered among the greatest wide receivers in college football in the last 50 years.
These names below are synonymous with greatness at the position over the last half-century, and it’s easy to see why Smith’s name could be included among them.
Marvin Harrison Jr. (Ohio State)
A two-time All-American and 2023 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Harrison caught 14 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons of his Ohio State career. He also had over 1,200 receiving yards in 2022 and 2023, finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy in 2023 in a season where he averaged 18.1 yards per reception.
DeVonta Smith (Alabama)
Smith’s monster 2020 season culminated with him winning the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards. In 2020, Smith caught 113 passes for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns, leading the Crimson Tide to the national championship in a season heavily impacted by COVID-19.
Not to be overlooked, Smith’s 2019 season saw him catch 68 receptions for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Ja’Marr Chase (LSU)
Chase is on this list for his unbelievable 2019 season. Playing on an LSU team that won the national championship and set offensive records, Chase won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and led the country in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, catching 84 passes for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns.
That season, Chase also averaged 21.2 yards per reception and 127.1 receiving yards per game.
Amari Cooper (Alabama)
An All-American in 2014, a year in which he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, Cooper caught 124 passes for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns, leading the country in receptions and winning the Fred Biletnikoff Award and Paul Warfield Trophy.
Cooper caught 59 receptions for 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in Alabama’s 2012 national championship season.
A.J. Green (Georgia)
One of the most acrobatic and talented receivers to ever come out of high school, Green was a two-time All-American and averaged 15.8 yards per reception. Green also led the SEC in touchdowns twice and receiving yards as a Freshman in 2008.
Julio Jones (Alabama)
Like Green, Jones became a prized prospect while playing for Alabama’s 2009 national championship team. Jones was the SEC’s Freshman of the Year in 2008 and a Second-Team All-American in 2010, the latter where Jones had 1,133 receiving yards on 78 receptions.
Calvin Johnson (Georgia Tech)
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson used an incredible 2006 season at Georgia Tech to spring all the way up to the second pick. In that 2006 season, Johnson caught 76 passes for 1,202 yards and 15 touchdowns, winning the ACC Offensive Player of the Year and Player of the Year Awards and earning All-American honors.
Johnson was also a three-time First-Team All-ACC and the 2006 winner of the Fred Biletnikoff Award and Paul Warfield Trophy.
Larry Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh)
One of the most polished route runners ever, Fitzgerald played just two seasons before getting drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. In those two seasons, Fitzgerald had over 1,000 receiving yards.
He had an incredible 2003 season, catching 92 passes for 1,672 yards and 22 touchdowns, finishing second in the Heisman Trophy race and winning the Walter Camp Player of the Year award.
Peter Warrick (Florida State)
A two-time All-American at Florida State, Warrick finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting in 1999. He had 1,232 receiving yards in 1998, a season in which he had 20.2 yards per reception. The following season, Warrick won the Paul Warfield Trophy.
Randy Moss (Marshall)
There, perhaps, hasn’t been a more electrifying wide receiver in the history of football than Randy Moss. He only played one season at Marshall, but that’s all he needed. Finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy and earning All-American status, Moss caught 90 passes for 1,647 yards and 25 touchdowns. That’s an incredible 18.3 yards per reception.
Keyshawn Johson (USC)
Boisterous. Brash. Brilliant. That’s Keyshawn Johnson in a nutshell. In two seasons at USC, he went over 1,000 yards in both seasons and caught 148 passes. Johnson was an All-American and the 1995 Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, finishing seventh in Heisman Trophy voting, and was selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft the following Spring.
Desmond Howard (Michigan)
Yes, I know. But there’s no denying Howard’s greatness.
The 1991 Heisman Trophy winner, Howard, scored 30 touchdowns in three seasons at Michigan. In 1991, Howard averaged 31.1 yards per kick return and 17.4 yards per punt return, a sign of things to come when Howard won Super Bowl XXXI MVP.
Tim Brown (Notre Dame)
Like Howard, Brown made more of a name for himself by returning kicks and punts. In 1987, Brown won the Heisman Trophy with three punt return touchdowns and 21.7 yards per reception. Brown went on to have a prolific Hall of Fame NFL career, catching over 1,000 passes for nearly 15,000 yards and 100 touchdowns.
Cris Carter (Ohio State)
Buckeye. Carter earned All-American status in 1986 with 65 receptions for 1,066 yards and 11 touchdowns. Carter went on to have a Hall of Fame career with 130 touchdowns and over 1,100 receptions.
Michael Irvin (Miami)
Irvin caught 26 touchdowns in three seasons at Miami, and he played on the Hurricanes’ 1987 national championship team. Earning First-Team All-American status in 1986, Irvin went on to have a lucrative NFL career with nearly 12,000 receiving yards.
Steve Largent (Tulsa)
With 14 touchdowns in each of his final two seasons with Tulsa, Largent was showing what was to come with the then-fledgling Seahawks. Largent’s No. 83 is retired at Tulsa, and he was a Second-Team All-American in 1975. With the Seahawks, Largent caught over 13,000 yards worth of 819 passes and had exactly 100 touchdowns.
