Top recruit officially signs with Ohio State…Smith chose the Buckeyes over Miami (Fla.) and Florida State.
Hours after reaffirming his commitment to Ohio State, Jeremiah Smith is officially a Buckeye.
Late Wednesday night, the 5-star receiver and top overall prospect in the 2024 class sent his letter of intent to Columbus. With that, Smith became an official member of the Buckeyes’ 2024 class, which ranks fourth nationally according to 247Sports.
While Smith had first committed to Ohio State last December, his recruitment came down to the wire, with Miami (Fla.) and Florida State also vying for his services. Even after reaffirming his commitment to the Buckeyes during a 12 p.m. ET press conference on Wednesday, there was speculation that the Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna product was considering a late switch, as he didn’t send in his letter of intent until late Wednesday night, which Ohio State confirmed with a post on social media.
Smith’s announcement that he was sticking with Ohio State — choosing the Buckeyes over the Hurricanes — came as Ryan Day was holding his annual Signing Day press conference. Upon receiving the news that the nation’s No. 1 recruit was sticking with his program, the Ohio State head coach literally buckled at the knees.
“I’m sorry, what was the question again?” Day said after remaining almost speechless for a full minute.
The college football world is waiting on Jeremiah Smith. The nation’s No. 1 player in the class of 2024 publicly reaffirmed his year-long commitment to Ohio State on Wednesday’s Signing Day but has not yet sent in his binding Letter of Intent.
In a public ceremony at Chaminade-Madonna High School in South Florida, Smith appeared to sign his letter of intent, which would need to be signed and sent to the school of his choice to have any binding power. That occurred at 12:30 p.m. ET.
As of 7:30 p.m. ET, Ohio State has not announced that it has received Smith’s LOI. That opening has allowed for a rise in rampant social media and message board speculation that perhaps the Miami Hurricanes or Florida State Seminoles, contenders in Smith’s recruitment, had made a successful 11th-hour pitch.
Early in the afternoon, sources at Ohio State were not worried about Smith’s delayed LOI. Head coach Ryan Day expressed relief during his Signing Day press conference when a person off camera informed him that the receiver had reaffirmed his commitment at a ceremony in Hollywood, Florida. But something has delayed Smith sending in his letter of intent, and parties involved have mostly gone silent.
Mum is also the word at Miami, though sources say a hype tweet sent by Miami executive director of football Dennis Smith was in regards to a portal defensive lineman, rather than a flip of Jeremiah Smith. Dennis Smith’s message on X was an all-caps YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS and an edit of Miami’s Sebastian the Ibis mascot smoking a pipe.
