Can James Smith's 'fresh start' at Ohio State unlock more for the Alabama transfer?

The fourth-year defensive tackle joined the Buckeyes this offseason.

Defensive tackle James Smith transferred from Alabama to Ohio State this offseason. (Bill Landis)

COLUMBUS — The way James Smith tells it, there was a chance he could’ve ended up at Ohio State earlier than this. Smith was a five-star prospect out of Carver High School in Montgomery, Ala., in 2023, the type of player who typically doesn’t stray too far from the SEC. But he also had family from Cleveland, and was more interested in the Buckeyes than anyone realized.

OSU defensive line coach Larry Johnson offered Smith a scholarship, but Smith was never really a priority recruit. Smith’s official visit list ended up being an all-SEC lineup of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Auburn.

“(Johnson) didn’t think I was serious about coming up here,” Smith said this week. “So I went to Alabama, that’s the next best program. For us to mesh at this time is really crazy.”

Smith said that after his fourth practice as a Buckeye, a few months removed from transferring from Alabama to Ohio State. Johnson may not have read the recruitment exactly right the first time around, but the relationship built back then helped Johnson secure Smith’s commitment on the second try. Now, Smith will play his final year of college football in scarlet and gray, after three seasons in crimson and white.

It’s an interesting addition, especially if you beleive in a player’s ability to still harness something from a five-star pedigree this many years removed from high school.