Game Changers: Why Jeremiah Smith Almost Flipped From Ohio State to Miami

Nearly two years ago — on Dec. 19, 2023, the eve of college football’s early signing period — wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and his father, Chris Smith, embarked on a final conversation to solidify the five-star recruit’s longstanding commitment to Ohio State, a program known for transforming elite prospects at that position into richly compensated NFL stars. They went to sleep that night having agreed that Jeremiah, the No. 1 overall player in the country, would sign with the Buckeyes during a ceremony the following afternoon. 

Something began to change as Jeremiah navigated his next day at Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory School in Hollywood, Florida — a place where he won three consecutive state championships after transferring from Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens. To the surprise of those close to him, Jeremiah felt a sudden urge to flip to Miami (Fla.), one of several in-state schools willing to bend over backward to keep such a generational talent close to home. The Hurricanes had a decorated history of winning national championships (five) and producing future Pro Football Hall of Famers (11), much of which was forged in the 1980s and ’90s. 

But they needed someone prodigious like Jeremiah to finally connect their glorious past with a modest present.  

Wednesday's College Football Playoff quarterfinal between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 10 Miami in the Cotton Bowl pits Jeremiah Smith against the school that nearly snatched him up two years ago and a roster bursting with some of his former teammates from a high-profile upbringing in South Florida, where fans packed high school stadiums just to watch his youth teams perform.

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"He was this close," Chris Smith told me. "He was like, ‘Dad, I want to go and gamble on myself.’ I told him, ‘You know you can lose at gambling, too, right? Why gamble your life when you know it’s a sure thing over here [at Ohio State]?’

"Not knocking [Miami]. Not saying they can’t develop him, but if you want to go to U-M, you’re really not going to get developed [as much] because all you’re going to do is rely on your skill set, which you already have. And I want him to think in a business sense."

(Photo by Ross Harried/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

For Chris Smith, thinking in a business sense meant encouraging Jeremiah to follow through on his verbal pledge to Ohio State, whose wide receivers coach at the time, Brian Hartline — who was recently hired as the head coach at USF — remains the single-best identifier and molder of high-end receiving talent in the country. Five of Hartline’s former protégés have been selected in the first round of the past four NFL Drafts alone, with current Buckeyes standout Carnell Tate likely to join that list come April. And Jeremiah, who enters the College Football Playoff having topped 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns for the second consecutive season, is a shoo-in for the first round when he becomes draft-eligible in 2027. He made the right choice by remaining steadfast and signing with the Buckeyes. 

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Somewhere along the space-time continuum, though, is an alternate universe in which Jeremiah Smith spurns Ohio State in favor of his hometown school — not unlike the stunning decision by five-star quarterback and Nashville native Jared Curtis to reverse his commitment from Georgia to Vanderbilt earlier this month, drastically altering the trajectory of an overlooked program desperate to succeed in the modern era. The rock-star profile Smith now experiences at Ohio State might have reached stratospheric levels had he enrolled at Miami, given everything the posh city has to offer, though he's already won a national championship with the Buckeyes. 

"He probably could have went to Miami and got more money," Dameon Jones, who coached Smith at Chaminade-Madonna, told me. "But I’ll never forget, the dad told me, he said, ‘We’re not looking for the short term. We’re looking for the long term. Long term is NFL, but he’s gotta be developed.’"

(Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

It was a belief that everyone in the Smith family came to share given their understanding of just how prolific Ohio State has been at shepherding promising receiver talents to the next level, with Hartline and head coach Ryan Day converting boundless potential into generational earning power seemingly at will. However, the emotional component of a local legend removing himself from a community that incubated his success was challenging for those around him to accept. Plenty of people from Smith's inner circle wanted him to stay home. 

His mother, Lativia Newberry, needed some convincing before signing off on the idea of her eldest son enrolling at a school more than 1,100 miles away, especially considering how fond she’d become of then-Florida head coach Billy Napier during the recruiting process. 

Rod Mack, Smith’s youth coach who played linebacker at Miami from 1995-99, saw in his star pupil many of the same traits he’d observed in former Hurricane teammates Ray Lewis, Edgerrin James, Ed Reed, Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson — all of whom have since been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He couldn’t help but daydream about Smith potentially wearing the same uniform. There were numerous occasions when Smith and his childhood friends — like current Miami players Joshisa Trader and Ryan Mack, Rod Mack's son — plotted ways for alumni of the nationally recognized Miami Gardens Ravens youth program to end up at the same college. 

"It was going to happen," Ryan Mack told me. "It was supposed to happen, but it just never worked out. Everybody went their separate ways. You can’t blame them. They did what was best for them, but I wish it had ended up that way. Maybe it still could one day. You never know."

"The allure of them playing together was huge," Mack added, "[of] him staying in Miami and playing with his buddies. Because it was a rare opportunity that you’ve got kids who have been playing since they were 9 or 10 years old and there’s six, seven, eight of them that can all go play college football. … You guys would be playing these same positions together that you’ve been training since you was [little]. You can do this at home. It would have been something special, but the decision to go [to Ohio State], I understand it totally."

The reverence shown by Rod Mack and his son to refrain from pressuring Smith's commitment in 2023 was a mindset shared by the South Florida community at large, a region known for being one of the most fertile talent beds in the country and a place eager for its latest superstar to achieve his lofty dreams. When Smith enters AT&T Stadium on Wednesday night to face Miami — the Buckeyes are favored by 9.5 points — there will be more than 50 native Floridians on the Hurricanes’ roster, most of whom he’s played with or against at some point in the last decade. None of them sought to overtly influence his collegiate decision, Jeremiah told me, and they understood why Ohio State represented the best fit for such a unique talent. His wasn't the kind of career to be messed with. 

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Now, Smith claims an endorsement portfolio that includes lucrative deals with companies like Adidas, Red Bull, Nintendo and Lululemon, among others. The totality of them will still render him the most famous player on the field this week — just as he was in high school and for his youth team before that. If Smith performs the way he did during last year's CFP, when he caught 13 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns en route to the national title, Hurricanes' fans near and far can be forgiven for wondering what might have been. 

"I would love to see him in Miami," Mario Perez, who coached Smith at Monsignor Pace, told me. "Kids have to do what’s best for them, right?"

Michael Cohen covers college football and college basketball for FOX Sports. Follow him at @Michael_Cohen13.

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