COLUMBUS — Ohio State’s history at wide receiver is almost unfair.
Cris Carter. David Boston. Michael Jenkins. Santonio Holmes. Ted Ginn Jr. Michael Thomas. Terry McLaurin. Chris Olave. Garrett Wilson. Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Marvin Harrison Jr. Emeka Egbuka.
That is not a position group. That is an assembly line.
Yet, when Ohio State hosts Kent State on Saturday, a junior playing the third game of his third collegiate season is likely to pass every one of them in one of the most important statistical categories.
Jeremiah Smith enters the game needing only 26 yards to break Michael Jenkins’ Ohio State career receiving record of 2,898.
Twenty-six yards.
Against Kent State, Smith may reach that number before some fans have located their seats, argued with someone about whether those seats are actually theirs and paid approximately the value of a midsized sedan for refreshments.
The record itself is impressive. The speed with which Smith has approached it is absurd.
Smith accumulated 163 receptions for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns during his first two seasons. Those yardage and touchdown totals were the most recorded by any Big Ten receiver through his first two collegiate years.
He has added 16 receptions for 315 yards and three touchdowns through the first two games of 2026, bringing his career totals to 179 catches, 2,873 yards and 30 scores.
According to Ohio State’s official game notes, Smith needs 27 receptions, 26 yards and six touchdowns to become the program’s career leader in all three categories.
The yardage record should fall Saturday. The others probably will not remain standing much longer.
Egbuka currently owns the receptions record with 205, while Boston holds the touchdown mark with 34. Smith needs 27 catches to pass Egbuka and six scores to move beyond Boston.
Barring injury, both records appear less like possibilities and more like appointments waiting to be placed on the calendar.
Smith’s climb becomes even more remarkable when considering the receivers whose names already occupy Ohio State’s record book. Jenkins played four seasons. Egbuka returned for his senior year. Boston produced three remarkable seasons before becoming a top-10 NFL Draft pick.
Smith is preparing to move past them before September of his junior season has ended.
He has not accumulated empty statistics against overmatched opponents, either.
As a freshman, Smith helped Ohio State win a national championship and delivered the decisive 56-yard reception against Notre Dame in the title game. Last season, he recorded his second consecutive 1,000-yard campaign. Only three receivers in program history have accomplished that feat.
Last Saturday, with Ohio State playing Texas on the road, Smith caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. The Buckeyes ultimately collapsed during the fourth quarter, but Smith spent much of the evening looking like the best player on a field filled with future NFL talent.
Texas eventually devoted additional attention toward stopping him, and Ohio State’s offense struggled once the Longhorns removed its most dangerous weapon.
That is both a compliment to Smith and a warning about the offense surrounding him.
Every opponent knows where Julian Sayin wants to go with the football. Every defensive coordinator builds a game plan around preventing No. 4 from taking over. Smith continues producing anyway.
The receiving record will not make him Ohio State’s greatest receiver by itself. Statistics from different eras, offenses and career lengths cannot provide a perfect comparison. Carter played in a different sport offensively than the one Smith plays today, while Harrison, Wilson and Olave left for the NFL before exhausting their eligibility.
But records still matter.
They connect generations of players and provide tangible evidence of how consistently someone performed. At a program with Ohio State’s receiving tradition, becoming the career leader in anything requires extraordinary production.
The record-breaking catch could be spectacular. It could be a deep touchdown, a leaping reception over two defenders or another ridiculous one-handed catch, or any other other physical gifts that have made Smith famous.
However it happens, Ohio Stadium should pause long enough to recognize it.
Ohio State has produced an astonishing collection of receivers. Smith is about to stand statistically above all of them—and he is nowhere close to finished.
