Sometimes, you can’t reason with people who don’t pay much attention to college football. Somehow, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith didn’t take home the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to college football’s top receiver. Instead, the award went to USC receiver Makai Lemon.
From a purely statistical standpoint, Lemons did have an outstanding year. He played in 12 games, catching 79 passes for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns. By comparison, Smith also played in 12 games, catching 80 passes for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns. However, anyone who knows anything about the game knows that Smith is the best receiver in college football with his combination of size, speed, hands and strength.
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If there’s any good news for Smith, it’s that he’s still a year away from winning the award. To be fair, he deserved more consideration last season when he wasn’t a finalist. He is one of three finalists this year, joining Lemon and UConn’s Skylar Bell. Interestingly, Smith won the Richter-Howard Receiver of the Year Award in the Big Ten Conference, beating out Lemon.
Don’t blame the guy because I voted for Smith just like I voted for Marvin Harrison Jr. in 2022 and 2023. Harrison was also snubbed in 2022, but came back for his junior season and won the award by one vote before declaring early for the NFL Draft.
All is not lost for Ohio State during the ESPN Home Depot College Awards. Safety Caleb Downs did win the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back, but that’s all the hardware the Buckeyes earned Friday night.
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Maybe, just maybe, some of that will add fuel to the fire for Ohio State as it begins preparations for what it hopes will be another memorable College Football Playoff run.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith snubbed for national award Friday
