Ohio State didn’t even need to take the field over the weekend in order to pick up yet another win.
On Sunday, three-star athlete Angelo Smith — the younger brother of Ohio State star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith — committed to the Buckeyes, giving a little extra meaning to the program’s ‘Brotherhood’ slogan.
Like his older brother, Smith plays his high school ball at Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Florida. Lining up primarily at safety, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound athlete is coming off an impressive sophomore campaign, racking up 40 tackles, 11 pass breakups and three picks while helping to lead the Lions to a Sunshine State 1A championship.
Smith’s ranking doesn’t jump off the page, currently ranked as a three-star prospect and listed as the No. 32 safety and No. 35 player in Florida per 247Sports, but Ohio State is already well versed in the family’s athletic pedigree, and it would not be at all surprising to see those numbers increase drastically by the time his class’ signing day comes around.
The Buckeyes first offered Smith during a one-day camp this past summer, and he returned earlier this season to take in Ohio State’s 14-7 victory over then-No. 1 Texas.
“Getting an offer like that, it felt wonderful. I don’t even know how to explain it, but I feel like I really put a lot of work into it and it wasn’t just given to me,” Smith told Eleven Warriors after receiving the offer. “Knowing I’m [Jeremiah’s] brother and stuff, people just think stuff’s supposed to be given to me […] So knowing that I had to work for it to get it, it was a good feeling at the end of the day. It was a great feeling.”
While Smith has been greatly inspired by his brother’s early success, it is unlikely that the two will overlap in Columbus, as Jeremiah Smith is poised to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft should his career trajectory continue on its current path. Still, it’s exciting to get another Smith on campus who has learned under one of the greatest wide receivers in program history.
“He’s a hard worker, but knowing my size and knowing that me and him don’t got the same measurables right now, I would say my hard work and the way I push myself every day,” Smith said of the difference between himself and his older brother. “I’m not the biggest person in the world. It might be other guys that’s bigger than me. So I feel like I just work at 10 times harder for everything, and that’s really what pushes me to be different.”
The Smith connection is nice to see for Ohio State, but it is also beneficial to keep the Chaminade-Madonna Prep pipeline flowing as well. The Buckeyes obviously struck gold with Jeremiah Smith, and they were also able to land Kenyatta Jackson out of the prep power in the 2022 class.
Smith becomes the third early member of Ohio State’s 2027 class, joining five-star wide receiver Jamier Brown and high four-star quarterback Brady Edmunds.
Check out some of the highlights from his first two weeks in action this season:
