Had he entered the NCAA transfer portal after last season, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith likely would’ve broken the record for the biggest NIL deal in college football history.
Smith, the No. 1-ranked player nationally in the class of 2024, is widely considered the best wide receiver in the country.
There was some speculation Smith, a Miami native, could leave Ohio State after the Buckeyes’ 24-14 loss to the Miami Hurricanes in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals — and many believed Miami was the favorite to land him if he did.
“Just because they beat us and things went their way, I wasn’t going back home,” Smith told On3.
“No reason to go back home, not when I’m at the best place in the country. I came to Ohio State for a reason, to win championships, develop as a player and a person and keep building on this legacy. I might have grown up in South Florida, but I’m a Buckeye. That’s not changing. I wasn’t going anywhere.”
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Miami was just one of multiple teams to throw massive amount of money at Smith in hopes of enticing him to enter the portal. Had he taken that route, he’d be the richest player in college football hands down.
“[I was offered] over $10 million, easy,” Smith said. “But that’s not how I operate. Teams were telling my agent they had a certain amount of money for me to come there.”
With back-to-back seasons of 1,240 yards and 12 touchdowns or more, Smith will be highly-sought after if he decares for the 2027 NFL draft, where he’s already projected to be a top-five pick.
Some analysts and draft experts even argue that Smith could be in the conversation to go No. 1 overall, something that’s only ever happened three times in NFL history — John Roderick in 1966 (Miami Dolphins), Irving Fryer in 1984 (New England Patriots), and Keyshawn Johnson in 1996 (New York Jets).
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