All is well that ends well for Ohio State, even if it ended in a sigh of relief.
Jeremiah Smith, a five-star wide receiver and the consensus top overall recruit in the nation, will sign with Ohio State.
The moment it happened…
— Rivals (@Rivals) December 20, 2023
Jeremiah Smith is OHIO STATE bound. pic.twitter.com/dRYtYcr1CG
Smith has been committed to OSU since December 2022 so this has been a longstanding relationship between recruit and program. With that said, plenty have tried to seperate the two, including last-minute pushes from the likes of Florida State, Florida and Miami.
Smith is from Opa Locka, Florida, so it makes sense that the three Florida powerhouses were trying to keep him in state. That's not surprising.
What was surprising, though, was the fact that Miami was apparently much closer to flipping Smith than many realized.
In fact, Smith had a bag with him during announcement that housed two hats. One, as expected, was Ohio State.
The other?
Jeremiah Smith said he had two hats in his bag: Miami and Ohio State. He ultimately decided in the final two minutes. He wanted to go to a place with a strong track record of first round picks. That was the difference. pic.twitter.com/OY2cy64sDq
— Manny Navarro (@Manny_Navarro) December 20, 2023
What a massive win and upset that would have been for Mario Cristobal.
The rich continue to get richer, though, as yet another generational talent at wide receiver is going to be a Buckeye.
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