Jeremiah Smith’s Ohio State status raises transfer portal speculation

With the Ohio State Buckeyes being eliminated from the College Football Playoff, all eyes are now onto the transfer portal. In fact, things have already been kicking into gear as it has been announced that Lincoln Kienholz, James Peoples, Jelani Thurman, C.J. Hicks, Dominic Kirks, Bryson Rodgers, and seven others are all entering the portal.

This is all purely speculation, but it is very hard not to think about what could happen with Jeremiah Smith. It’s very unlikely Smith goes anywhere. He could not play a down again, and still be the all-time greatest wide receiver in Ohio State history, and is no doubt the best receiver in all of College Football today.

But you have to at least remain aware there is absolutely a possibility of something happening. For starters, you can very well make an argument that Smith has nothing else to prove in Columbus. With all of the stats and accolades he has racked up already, along with the national title in 2024, there is not much else he has to do besides add on and winning the Heisman or the Biletnikoff Award.

Besides that, it is entirely possible that Smith does what Ja’Marr Chase did heading into his junior season and just prepare for the NFL Draft the following spring. Everyone knows how talented he is, just like everyone knew how talented Chase was heading into the 2021 Draft.

On top of that possibility, we live in an entirely new era of College Football with NIL money. Many are being concerned about if the Miami Hurricanes could make a push for Smith after the video below surfaced following the Cotton Bowl. It’s important to note that his hometown is Miami, Florida and that the Hurricanes have had no better reinforcements than now to throw NIL money at the superstar receiver.

You also cannot forget about the Buckeyes losing Brian Hartline who is heading to the University of South Florida as their new head coach. It is very possible that Smith loses some interest in Columbus after the loss of Hartline.

But bringing in Cortez Hankton from LSU as the new wide receivers coach is a big win. Hankton has developed receivers like Malik Nabers, Ladd McConkey, Brian Thomas Jr., George Pickens, and Kyren Lacy over his time at LSU and Georgia.

Even by bringing in Hankton though, you can not deny that Ohio State’s offense was highly disappointing overall in 2025. Quarterback Julian Sayin was more than serviceable, and looked great against lesser opponents. But his lack of dual threat ability and experience showed against Indiana and Miami, the two toughest opponents the sophomore faced all season.

Another example to bring up is Caleb Downs and nobody was thinking back in 2023 that he would ever transfer from Alabama. Downs ended up shocking the nation and all Buckeyes fans know how that ended up.

Hopefully Ohio State is not on the wrong end of things this time around. In fact, it’s highly unlikely. But don’t be surprised if Smith enters the portal or sits out for 2026.