COLUMBUS, Ohio - There's no gray in his beard, and both the recent video and numbers show he certainly has not lost a step.
There is a way to make Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith feel a little like an old man, though.
By sharing this mind-numbing stat: Ohio State is 22-0 over Smith's four-year career when he catches a touchdown pass.
From Akron in his first college game in 2011 to Alabama on the first day of 2015, 22 wins. And no losses.
"I really didn't know that stat until someone brought it up (last week)," Smith said. "It's unique."
Sure, Ohio State has only lost 10 games, total, in Smith's four years -- and seven of those were in his freshman season -- but that's still pretty impressive.
There's one left, next Monday in the national championship game vs. Oregon, and Smith has one remaining goal -- for the game and the streak.
"Just keep catching touchdowns," he said.
With four in the last two games, Smith's speed and ability to catch the deep ball have eased the transition for big-armed quarterback Cardale Jones, the fifth Ohio State quarterback from whom Smith has caught a pass and the fourth to throw Smith a touchdown.
Smith has 30 touchdowns in his career, his first coming in that opener vs. the Zips on Sept. 3, 2011.
"I don't even remember that one," he admitted.
He beat a Russell Wilson-led Wisconsin team with a 40-yard touchdown catch later that season. Then, late in 2011, everything changed for Ohio State as Urban Meyer was hired as head coach. The Buckeyes went from 6-7 in 2011 to 12-0 but banned from the postseason the next year, and that's when Smith made what he calls his biggest touchdown catch, a 63-yarder in what became a 17-16 win at Michigan State.
"We needed a big play," Smith said. "It was hard to score for both teams. It was a battle."
Smith remembers "freezing up" a defender with a quick move off the line.
"Then I ran away from him," Smith said. "There have been so many plays...but (the one at Michigan State in 2012) kind of turned the game around a little bit. Winning that game was an unbelievable moment. With Urban coming here, he really didn't believe in his team that much at the beginning. I feel like after that game, that's when he started believing in his team. After that point, he started coaching the team different.
"Instead of him complaining or us complaining about something, it was more the finer details that we needed to do to keep winning. I think he constantly reminded us that we have to grind to win. That's what we did. Last year we did it and had the hiccups in the last two games. With this year, I think it's starting to click. I think right after that Virginia Tech loss, it really sunk in to everyone. We just went on with the season."
The Buckeyes are playing for the national title despite losing Miller 10 days before the season, going to a redshirt freshman, then going to another first-time starting quarterback for the Big Ten Championship Game. The play of the receivers -- not just Smith, but fellow senior Evan Spencer, sophomore Michael Thomas and freshman runner/receiver combo Jalin Marshall -- has helped those transitions and pushed the Buckeyes to this point.
For a personal encore in November, Smith went to Michigan State and torched the Spartans -- again -- for 129 yards and a touchdown on six catches. It was a game the Buckeyes rallied to win, keeping them alive for the final spot in the College Football Playoff. OSU then claimed the No. 4 seed after beating Wisconsin on Dec. 6, 59-0, as Smith scored three times and recorded 137 receiving yards.
This year's Michigan State game marked just the second time on the season Smith had more than two catches. He admits to being frustrated and wondering how or why that happened, but trying not to let his frustration show. His speed helped Ohio State's kick coverage teams even when he wasn't getting a bunch of passes thrown his way, and at midseason Meyer said he believed Smith was the best punt coverage gunner in the country.
His long journey has included coaching changes, quarterback changes and patience.
"I felt like if I would have complained to the coaches about my role it probably would have turned on me," Smith said. "I just had to do my job, keep working."
That strategy has worked. Smith has 32 catches for 886 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season, 120 catches for 2,458 yards and 30 touchdowns in his career.
"I feel like we're way more effective when we throw deep," he said.
Ohio State wins when Smith gets going.
The proof is in 22-0.
