There’s an ongoing debate about who the best true freshman wide receiver is this season. Alabama’s Ryan Williams is 17 years old. Ohio State’s Jeremiah, J.J., Smith is 18 years old. Both were fantastic, and at times jaw dropping, through the first month of the season while starring for national-title-contending teams.

But, if you ask Geno Smith — Jeremiah’s cousin and the starting quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks — there’s an even bigger statement to be made about No. 4 in scarlet and gray, the On3 Industry Ranking’s top overall prospect from the 2024 cycle.

Leading up to a Week 6 showdown between No. 3 Ohio State and Iowa, CBS posted a video interview of Jeremiah, conducted by Jenny Dell, who showed the first-year Buckeyes receiver a pre-recorded clip of Geno talking about his younger cousin’s debut, two-touchdown performance from last month.

“I’ve also had the chance to watch J.J. since he was about 10 years old,” Geno said. “He’s going to be the best receiver ever. I really believe that.”

Geno continued, and Jeremiah began to smile briefly: “Man, I was in the house. I was watching the whole [Akron] game when he caught that first touchdown. Man, I jumped right out of my seat. The whole house was going crazy. It was good to see that. I thought he had a heck of a game. Man, I thought he started out a little slow. I know he wants to catch that first one. He would have scored on that one, too — let’s go, J.J. But great debut. I thought he did great. He’s born with the talent, but he’s putting the work in, and he’s ready. He’s ready right now.”

Dell then asked Jeremiah what goes through his mind when he hears Geno declare that Jeremiah will become “the best receiver ever.”

“I mean, I feel the same way,” Jeremiah told Dell, via CBS. “A lot of people, not only my cousin, told me. There’s a lot of people I grew up around, just playing the game of football, that have been around the game of football for a very long time, [and] they’ve been telling me the same thing. So, I mean, it’s nothing new that I heard. But it’s a big statement, for sure, and I just got to keep working to be that.”

Prior to Geno embarking on his storybook NFL career, one that started with him struggling in New York before ultimately ascending in Seattle years later, he became a household name at West Virginia.

Jeremiah is leaning on the experiences Geno had with the Mountaineers back then.

“Just having a big cousin is something special,” Jeremiah told Dell, via CBS, “because he’s been through the stuff that I’m about to go through with college, just everything that comes with it. So he been through it. I know I could go to him about anything, and talk to him about anything that goes on, because he’s been through it, for sure.”

LeBron James posts about Jeremiah Smith after freshman’s head-turning performance versus Michigan State

Current Ohio State players marveled at Jeremiah Smith’s one-hand show late in the first half at Michigan State. So did former Ohio State players.

And so did LeBron James.

“It means a lot,” Smith said postgame when the first-year Buckeyes receiver was asked about James chiming in on Smith’s pair of highlight-reel, one-handed grabs during a 38-7 win over the Spartans.

“Growing up, just watching LeBron and looking up to him and the things that he was doing on the basketball side, it’s pretty cool to me.”

Smith was spectacular in Spartan Stadium, especially on Ohio State’s final drive of the first half.

First the phenom freshman reeled in a 27-yard pass from starting quarterback Will Howard. After elevating between two Michigan State defenders, Smith used his right hand to pull in the downfield throw. His left hand then helped him secure the reception while he maintained his body control and got down in bounds.

Three plays later, on 3rd-and-10, Smith extended his right hand to pluck a 17-yard dart from backup quarterback Devin Brown, who came in to momentarily replace Howard after he got the wind knocked out of him. Smith made that one-handed snag in stride while scoring his second touchdown of the night.

He also found the end zone on a well-designed, 19-yard endaround earlier in the first half.

“I think he has all the intangibles that you would want in a prototypical receiver,” Buckeyes senior wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said of Smith postgame. “Obviously, he’s tall, he’s fast, he’s strong, all these things. But just his ability to seek knowledge and want to be able to learn — he doesn’t necessarily have to listen to everything that I say or that Coach Hart (Brian Hartline) says, but he takes in all this knowledge, and he applies it on the field.

“So as his knowledge grows and his game expands, he’s really going to turn into something special. Buckeye fans can be excited for these next few years.”

Smith finished the Michigan State game with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, plus he notched the 19-yard rushing score mentioned above.

He now has six touchdowns in his first four games in a Buckeyes uniform. The Chaminade-Madonna Prep product and Miami Gardens, Florida, native leads Ohio State with 364 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.

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