Jeremiah Smith should skip rest of Ohio State's season, former national champion says: 'Nothing to gain'

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith needs to shut it down for the season and begin 2027 NFL Draft preparations as this cycle's top overall player, according to CBS Sports analyst and former NFL running back Damien Harris. 

Smith recorded seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 41-28 loss to No. 23 Oregon, one that likely detonates the 12th-ranked Buckeyes' College Football Playoff hopes as a three-loss team with three games to play. The Buckeyes have lost two straight since starting QB Julian Sayin suffered what is expected to be a season-ending injury in a win vs. Indiana. 

One of college football's highest-paid players (he reportedly turned down $10 million to transfer to Miami, to give you an idea), Smith holds program records for receptions, touchdowns, receiving yards and won a national championship with the Buckeyes as a freshman in 2024.

"We just watched Jeremiah Smith play his last snap at Ohio State," Harris said after the game."He's done. He's going to pack it up. He's not playing anymore this season. The season's gone. This isn't a CFP team, they were already on the outside looking in. He's already etched his name in history. He's got the touchdown record, he's got the reception record, he's got a national championship. He's not going to get a Heisman this year, what's there to play for?"

"In my opinion, there's nothing to gain, there's everything to lose if you're Jeremiah Smith. I don't think that he plays again the rest of the season for Ohio State." 👀@DHx34 #CFBPostgame pic.twitter.com/ezHkYeUx7D

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) November 8, 2026

"In my opinion, there's nothing to gain, there's everything to lose if you're Jeremiah Smith. I don't think that he plays again the rest of the season for Ohio State." 👀@DHx34 #CFBPostgame pic.twitter.com/ezHkYeUx7D

Harris said it's time for Smith, projected as the No. 1 overall prospect in CBS Sports' latest rankings, to look after himself and realize there's "bigger things out there" than what the rest of the season has to offer for a team that's not going to play for a Big Ten Championship and is likely outside the top 15 in Tuesday new's CFP Rankings.

Cameras captured Smith noticeably frustrated in the fourth quarter of the loss to the Ducks, shouting toward his coaching staff. Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey did throw for 360 yards in the loss to Oregon, but there were times during the game where Smith's targets were inconsistent. 

The Buckeyes jumped out to a 14-point lead in the first half before giving up the next 31 points to Oregon.

"In my opinion, there's nothing to gain and everything to lose if you're Jeremiah Smith," Harris said. 

Harris played in the pre-NIL era for Nick Saban at Alabama, winning multiple national championships during his four-year career and finishing with 3,070 yards rushing and 23 touchdowns. A third-round pick in 2019, Harris rushed for 2,188 yards and 21 scores over five NFL seasons, four coming with the New England Patriots. 

Elite college football players have routinely skipped postseason games in recent years, but few have shut things down before the end of the regular season as a means to avoid injury. College football in some ways is more similar to the NFL now than to its pre-NIL era -- player contracts can be written to space out payments and safeguard against sit-outs, in the same way NFL players do not shut it down for self-preservation purposes when their team is eliminated from playoff contention. Ohio State has three games remaining, including the rivalry showdown against Michigan in the finale.

One of the Heisman frontrunners entering Week 10, Smith's odds considerably weakened after the Buckeyes' second straight setback. Smith entered the day second nationally in receiving yards per game, though, and has a good shot at his first Biletnikoff Award -- given annually to the nation's best receiver, a title he has unofficially held for three seasons now -- should he continue playing and should he and Fahey improve their chemistry through the end of the month. 

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