What's improvement look like for Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State's receivers? Start with YAC

The Buckeyes were among the worst yards after the catch teams in the country last year. Improving is a major emphasis this spring.

Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith runs for a touchdown in a playoff loss to Miami. (Photo courtesy of OSU athletics)

COLUMBUS — There’s a play from Jeremiah Smith’s freshman season that gets to the heart of what we’re about to discuss.

Smith catches a ball on a curl route near the Ohio State 36-yard line. There are three, maybe four, Western Michigan defenders within a reasonable distance of him to make a tackle after a short gain. Smith plants his foot and turns up the field. One of those defenders slips. Smith explodes away from the other three in a burst of speed. He runs, untouched, for a 70-yard touchdown on a play that started with a six-yard throw from Will Howard.

Pure juice.

But that was 2024. Smith had a different assessment of the receiver play in 2025.

“We really didn’t have any guys who had juice with the ball in their hands,” he said last week.

Ohio State’s offense last season was incredibly efficient. It wasn’t particularly explosive. When explosive plays happened, they typically came on long throws downfield to Smith or Carnell Tate. The Buckeyes will take those, certainly, but there’s an emphasis this spring on improving their yards after the catch output and making every throw feel like it has a chance to go all the way.