Joel Klatt on Jeremiah Smith: ‘He has a chance to be a top five receiver in the history of football’

FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt’s expectations for wide receiver Jeremiah Smith are nothing short of astronomical. During an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Klatt raved about the Ohio State superstar.

“The quarterback is not going to be asked to be Superman for Ohio State,” Klatt said. They should be able to run it well, their defense should be solid, and they’ve got, I think, the best wide receiver that I’ve seen in college football since I’ve been covering college football in Jeremiah Smith. He might be the best player I’ve seen since I started covering college football.

“There’s only two players that I felt like, as their true freshman year, they should be on an NFL field: Adrian Peterson and Jeremiah Smith… Smith is ridiculous. I think Jeremiah Smith — I mean, this is probably too much hype — Jeremiah Smith, if he just keeps working hard and developing, I think he has a chance to be a top five receiver in the history of football.”

Smith has earned the hype. In his debut campaign last season, Smith broke the FBS freshman receiving record, tallying 1,315 receiving yards. In total, he hauled in 76 catches for 15 touchdowns. He also notched one rushing score.

Smith didn’t shrivel away under the bright lights. In Ohio State’s win over Notre Dame in the national championship, Smith racked up five catches for 88 yards and a TD.

Moreover, Smith had his best performance of the season in Ohio State’s vengeful victory over Oregon in the College Football Playoff. In the triumph, Smith erupted for seven catches, 187 yards and two touchdowns.

For his efforts in the 2024 campaign, Smith was named the Big Ten Receiver of the Year and a First-Team All-American. While Klatt believes Smith could play in the NFL today, he’ll have to play at least another two years at the collegiate level before entering his name into the draft.

Oddsmakers expect Smith’s dominance to continue. According to BetMGM, Smith has the fourth-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy in 2025.

Klatt calling Jeremiah Smith the best wide receiver since he began covering college football is nothing to take lightly. Klatt began covering the sport in 2007 and has witnessed stars such as DeVonta Smith and Michael Crabtree shred opposing defenses.

If Smith is already outshining the aforementioned players with only one year under his belt, there’s no telling what the future holds for the star wideout. Smith will make his sophomore debut on Aug. 30, when Ohio State squares off against Texas at noon ET.