CBS Sports analyst and former NFL running back Damien Harris says Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith should shut down for the remainder of the season and begin preparing for the 2027 NFL Draft, where he is projected as the top overall prospect.
Smith caught seven passes for 133 yards and a touchdown in Saturday's 41-28 loss to No. 23 Oregon, a defeat that likely ends the 12th-ranked Buckeyes' College Football Playoff hopes with three losses and three games remaining. Ohio State has lost two straight since starting quarterback Julian Sayin suffered a season-ending injury against Indiana.
"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... 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?"
One of college football's highest-paid players — he reportedly turned down $10 million to transfer to Miami — Smith holds Ohio State program records for receptions, touchdowns, and receiving yards, and won a national championship as a freshman in 2024. Harris emphasized that Smith has "nothing to gain, everything to lose" by continuing to play for a team that will not compete for a Big Ten title and is likely outside the top 15 in the next CFP rankings.
Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey threw for 360 yards against Oregon, but Smith's targets were inconsistent at times. The Buckeyes surrendered 31 unanswered points after building a 14-point first-half lead. Cameras captured Smith visibly frustrated on the sideline in the fourth quarter.
Harris, who played for Nick Saban at Alabama and won multiple national championships before a five-year NFL career with 2,188 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns, noted that elite college players increasingly skip postseason games, but few shut down before the regular season ends. He argued that modern college football contracts, structured similarly to NFL deals, reduce the need for such self-preservation when a team is eliminated from championship contention.
Ohio State has three games left, including the rivalry showdown against Michigan. Smith entered the week as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner but saw his odds drop after the second consecutive loss. He remains second nationally in receiving yards per game and has a strong chance at his first Biletnikoff Award — given to the nation's best receiver — if he continues playing and improves his chemistry with Fahey.
