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As wide receiver Jeremiah Smith heads into his third (and presumably last) season with the Ohio State Buckeyes, there continue to be rumors that the future NFL wideout showed great loyalty to the team by turning down a lucrative offer to transfer.
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Speaking to the media at Big Ten Media Days, Smith confirmed that he was offered the reported $10 million to enter the transfer portal. But he made it clear that leaving Columbus, Ohio was never an option for him.
“I always wanted to be at Ohio State. It would be dumb for me to leave Ohio State and go to another team when I have the best offensive line in the country, the best quarterback in the country, the best coaches in the country,” Smith told the media.
But while Buckeyes fans online have praised him for his loyalty, other fans remain skeptical that such an offer was ever made given how large it is compared to other deals:
“Thanks young man for having character, integrity and common [sense]. You have all those elements in place, the money will come later,” one Buckeys fan wrote.
“How blessed are we to have this young man and coach Day representing our team and our state. Go Bucks,” wrote another.
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“Anyone who thinks Miami offered him 10 million when Mali is on the team is smoking crack. For reference, Mali makes 1.5 + benefits,” a third wrote.
“Zero chance and no college player is worth that much money. Think of the WAR stat in baseball. No chance anyone would pay that.”
“Who offered him $10M? Oregon, Miami, LSU?”
Smith in 2026
Jeremiah Smith enters the 2026 season as one of the highest rated players in college football, let alone wide receivers.
In just two seasons he has 163 receptions for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns. All three marks already place him in the top-10 all-time for Buckeyes receivers. If he puts up even half of his average production this coming season he will likely shatter all of the Buckeyes’ receiving records.
More importantly, his dominance at wideout has helped supercharge the Buckeyes offense and lifted them to back-to-back Big Ten title games and even a national championship.
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No matter how this season goes, he’ll always have friends in Columbus.
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