It was early signing day for high school prospects nationwide on Wednesday. Promising prospects in college football have committed to play for prestigious schools like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and others. With one significant exception, most of the top-15 recruits had committed by Wednesday night, according to the recruiting databases of On3 and 247Sports.
The top-ranked recruit in the nation, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, hasn’t announced his decision to attend Ohio State.
The top recruit and wideout from Chaminade-Madonna Prep gave the Buckeyes and their supporters a scare. Smith made his first commitment to Ohio State in December 2022, and today afternoon, he attended a signing day ceremony in south Florida.
However, Smith hadn’t formally handed the Buckeyes his letter of intent (LOI) following the event. After it was over, for hours, Ohio State didn’t acknowledge his signing, raising some doubts.
Smith had previously been heavily sought by other schools, including as the Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes, and there was rumor that these schools had persuaded him to back out following his verbal commitment. This recruiting cycle, it wouldn’t be the first time; Miami had traded four-star running back Jordan Lyle from
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Shortly after 10:00 p.m. ET, Ohio State announced on X, now known as Twitter, that Smith had signed his letter of intent, allaying all of those fears and speculations.
According to 247Sports rankings, Smith leads the Buckeyes’ fourth-best recruiting class in the nation. Among the four athletes Ohio State signed in the top 50 of the Class of 2024 was Mylan Graham, a fellow wide receiver from New Haven.
With over 3,000 receiving yards at the end of his prep career, the wide receiver from Chaminade-Madonna excelled. Smith collected 88 receptions for 1,376 yards and a Florida state championship with the Lions in his final year. Smith was likened to All-Pro NFL wide receiver Julio Jones by 247Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins, who stated that Smith “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 assist in stepping into the shoes left in Columbus by the highly anticipated 2024 NFL Draft selection of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr.
