During Ohio State’s player press conferences on Monday, star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith addressed his late-season injury, revealing it affected him more than he had previously let on and forced him to play through noticeable limitations down the stretch.
Smith went down with a strain to the rectus femoris, a muscle in his quadriceps responsible for lifting his thighs, in practice prior to Ohio State’s 48-10 victory over UCLA, as the injury kept the wide receiver out for the Buckeyes’ 42-9 win over Rutgers the following week.
Smith said the injury was one of the toughest points for him mentally in his football career, adding that he doubted at times whether he would be able to play in Ohio State’s rivalry matchup against Michigan on Nov. 27.
“After Rutgers week, I was feeling down. I was like, I don’t know if I’m going to play. I was debating if I was going to play or not because it was really bad. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play.”
He added that he was grateful for how quickly he recovered, which enabled him to suit up and perform against the Buckeyes’ rival.
“But I had to do everything for the team, and I wanted to be out there and I did everything I could, and we got the win,” Smith said. “I was dealing with a quad strain and I was really supposed to be out for three to four weeks, and for me to pull that out, I give all the glory to God for that one.”
Head coach Ryan Day praised Smith for the sheer efforts to get back onto the field, adding that he ended up being a key for Ohio State against Michigan.
“I remember sitting down and talking to him and saying, ‘You have to will yourself to be healthy.’ He was wearing it early for a couple days, not to get too far into it. And I could see it on his face. Jeremiah cares a lot about his team. He loves Ohio State. He loves his teammates and he loves playing the game. For that to be taken away from him was not a good thing.
“I looked him right in the eye and I said, ‘Listen, no matter, JJ, what happens, we’re going to go win that game with or without you. Now we need you, and we want you in the game.’ It’s kind of like a weight got taken off his shoulders, and he willed himself to be healthy into that game and play in that game and it’s tremendous. He just did an amazing job. It goes to show you, when you set your mind to something, you can get it done, and he did it.”
In the Buckeyes’ 27-9 victory over the Wolverines, Smith caught just three passes, though arguably had the play of the game with a 35-yard pass and catch from quarterback Julian Sayin on fourth-and-5 to put Ohio State up 10-6 in the second quarter.
In hindsight, Smith said the injury was nothing but another bump in the road, but at the time, it was still a challenge for him to face.
“It was just a little adversity, I should say,” Smith said. “It was something I never really had to deal with. I’ve never been hurt, but that was something serious I had to deal with.”
After racking up 80 catches for 1,086 yards and 11 touchdowns, Smith became one of three Buckeyes to earn unanimous All-American honors this season (Caleb Downs and Kayden McDonald).
