COLUMBUS, Ohio — The foam hands in the Ohio Stadium tunnel carried four fingers and a simple message: “JJ4ITALL.” By the end of Saturday, Jeremiah Smith had turned that slogan into something closer to a résumé.
Ohio State officially launched its Heisman campaign for Smith this week. Against Northwestern, the star receiver delivered the latest argument, catching 11 passes for 117 yards to break the Big Ten career receiving-yards record and help the Buckeyes secure a 28-19 win that snapped a two-game losing streak and kept their Big Ten and playoff hopes alive.
Smith’s fourth reception pushed him past Purdue’s John Standeford, who held the conference mark with 3,788 yards from 2000-03. Smith now has 3,875 career receiving yards. The performance also gave him his 17th career 100-yard receiving game, tying the Big Ten record shared by Purdue’s David Bell and Michigan’s Braylon Edwards.
He had already broken the Big Ten record for touchdown receptions earlier this season, passing Edwards. His 42nd career touchdown catch gave Ohio State a 28-13 lead with 6:33 remaining in the fourth quarter.
After the win, Ohio State players waved foam hands with four fingers raised — a nod to Smith’s No. 4 jersey — and some tossed the “JJ4ITALL” hands into the stands.
“Maybe there’s a better player out there,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said when asked about Smith’s Heisman case. “But this guy’s completely dominant — and I think he deserves it in the big way.”
The week before, in a 41-28 loss to Oregon, Ohio State went nearly two full quarters without targeting Smith while the Ducks rattled off 38 unanswered points. Against Northwestern, the Buckeyes made a clear effort to change that, targeting Smith on 10 of their 29 first-half plays. He finished with 17 targets and made a series of critical catches to keep drives alive.
Midway through the third quarter, with Ohio State clinging to a 14-13 lead, the Buckeyes faced third-and-10 at the Northwestern 28. Freshman quarterback Luke Fahey found Smith along the boundary, where he made a leaping grab on an out route. Officials initially ruled the pass incomplete, but review overturned the call after determining Smith got a foot in bounds. Four plays later, Fahey connected with Devin McCuin for a touchdown and a 21-13 lead.
Day said the plan after the Oregon loss was to get Smith involved early and often.
“The No. 1 goal is to win, but we also have an obligation to this young man, what he’s done for our program, who he is as a person, how he plays, what he does for his teammates, what he means to this program,” Day said. “He deserves the opportunity to touch the football. … Everybody in the country, the first thing they’re going to do is stop No. 4.”
Smith did not speak to reporters afterward. His play helped Ohio State improve to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten, earning the Buckeyes their first victory since Oct. 17, when starting quarterback Julian Sayin injured his throwing arm.
Day also emphasized that Smith’s competitiveness extends beyond individual awards.
“The thing that makes him even more special is like, yeah, he takes pride in [contending for the Heisman], but he just wants to win,” Day said. “You should see how happy he was with his teammates winning the game. That’s all he cares about. … I hope that the voters look at that because this is something, in my opinion, he deserves.”