COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Two years ago during spring practice, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard overthrew a freshman wide receiver in the end zone.
Coach Ryan Day came unglued.
"Are you not going to give the best receiver to potentially ever play the game a chance?" Day demanded, according to Howard.
"And I was like, 'Are you talking about this freshman, who hasn't even stepped on the field yet? You're calling him the best receiver ever?'" Howard recalled thinking. "That's a crazy thing to say."
Two years later, it doesn't seem so crazy.
Jeremiah Smith isn't just rewriting the Ohio State record books. He isn't just the clear favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
He's building a case to be the greatest wide receiver in college football history.
"Jeremiah's a freak," said Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, whose teams have faced Smith three times. "He can strike the fear of God in you on any snap."
In 2004, Sarkisian was in the Oakland Raiders' draft room when owner Al Davis asked about a wide receiver they were considering with the No. 2 pick.
"Is he Randy Moss?" Davis asked, according to Sarkisian.
"No," Oakland's offensive coordinator replied. "Randy Moss is a freak."
"Well, that's what I want," Davis said. "I want a freak."
The Raiders selected offensive tackle Robert Gallery with the second pick, and Pitt wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald went one pick later to the Arizona Cardinals.
Fitzgerald was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame earlier this year, two years after entering the College Football Hall of Fame.
More than two decades later, Sarkisian sees another college receiver with Moss-like ability.
"If there's anybody that could probably compare to somebody who could take over a game similar to Randy Moss, I would say it'd be Jeremiah Smith," Sarkisian said. "I mean, he's that good. He's got length, he's got strength, he's got speed, he's got ability to adjust to the ball, he's got catch-and-run ability, he's a smart player. He garners your attention on every snap."
Fitzgerald also sees similarities.
"The way he attacks the football and uses his body to shield defenders away, it kind of feels familiar," Fitzgerald told ESPN. "At Pitt, I took a lot of pride in giving my quarterback somebody they could trust, even when I wasn't necessarily open. I definitely see that quality in Jeremiah, even though he's open a heck of a lot more than I [was] with his physical abilities. He's doing things athletically that I never had the ability to do. The athleticism reminds me a lot of Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson."
Fitzgerald finished second in the 2003 Heisman Trophy voting. But Smith is running away with this Heisman race.
According to DraftKings, he is the overwhelming favorite (-220), well ahead of Miami quarterback Darian Mensah (+950) and Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr (+1000).
Despite facing constant double-teams, Smith has 48 receptions for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns, ranking second nationally in all three categories.
He also has already broken Ohio State's career records for receptions (211), receiving yards (3,474) and touchdown catches (38).
"If it's one-on-one, he's open. If he's double-covered, he's sort of open," Day said of the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Smith. "If he's triple-covered, he's covered, so that means somebody's got to be open somewhere else -- I say that half-kidding."
Over the past five drafts, Day has had six wide receivers selected in the first round. But even among that group, Day said recently, "It's hard to put anybody above him."
Smith capped his remarkable freshman season with a game-clinching 56-yard reception from Howard on third-and-11, sealing Ohio State's victory over Notre Dame for its first national championship in a decade.
One NFL general manager even told ESPN during the 2025 combine that Smith would've been the No. 1 pick in that year's draft -- after only one college season.
Since then, Smith has only gotten better.
"He's bigger, faster, stronger," said Jaxon Smith-Njigba, one of the Buckeyes' six recent first-round receivers and the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year. "His route running has gotten better. I can definitely tell that he's worked on that."
While lining up far more frequently in the slot than in his first two seasons, Smith leads the nation with 6.03 yards per route run. Indiana's Charlie Becker ranks second at 4.34.
Smith also accounts for 38% of Ohio State's targets, the second-highest share nationally. Yet he still has generated 48 targets with no defender within an arm's length when the pass arrives, also ranking second nationally.
"There are a lot of talented receivers," Fitzgerald said. "But the special ones can keep winning even when everybody, every defensive coordinator knows the ball's coming their way."
Smith is special.
But is he the greatest in college football history?
That depends on how greatness is measured.
Moss was nearly unstoppable at Marshall, catching a then-FBS-record 26 touchdown passes in 1997 while leading the Thundering Herd to 10 wins.
Fitzgerald dominated at Pitt even when opponents knew the ball was coming his way, finishing runner-up to Oklahoma quarterback Jason White in one of the closest Heisman votes in history. At Texas Tech, Michael Crabtree became the first receiver to win the Biletnikoff Award twice.
Johnson overwhelmed defenders with a combination of size and athleticism few had ever seen, becoming the first three-time first-team All-ACC selection in Georgia Tech history.
In 2020, Alabama's DeVonta Smith became the first wide receiver in nearly three decades to win the Heisman Trophy, capping his season with a national championship.
Unlike those receivers, Jeremiah Smith has yet to win the Biletnikoff, given annually to the nation's most outstanding receiver.
He's also never even been a Heisman finalist, much less won the award.
Yet.
"Having those accolades would definitely put the cherry on top," Smith-Njigba told ESPN.
They could also put Smith at the top of the list.
"I'm always careful trying to rank guys because I have a ton of respect for the Randy Mosses and the Michael Crabtrees and the Calvin Johnsons and guys who have come before them and help write the story of college football," Fitzgerald said.
"But based on what he's done over these first three years, he's earned the right to be in that conversation."