Jeremiah Smith reveals what kept him at Ohio State despite $10 million offer
The figure Jeremiah Smith turned down to stay at Ohio State would have made him the highest-paid player in college football by a comfortable margin, close to double the valuation attached to Texas quarterback Arch Manning. Smith confirmed again at Big Ten media days in Chicago on Wednesday that the offer cleared $10 million, and his explanation for waving it off had less to do with loyalty than with arithmetic.
Smith first put the number on the record in an April interview with On3, describing an offer over $10 million and adding that it was not how he operates. The recruiting push started, by his account, once Brian Hartline left to become South Florida’s head coach and Ohio State’s season ended in a 24-14 Cotton Bowl loss to Miami.
Jeremiah Smith confirmed he was offered $10 million to enter the transfer portal, but he never considered leaving Ohio State.
“I always wanted to be at Ohio State. It would be dumb for me to leave Ohio State and go to another team when I have the best offensive line in the… pic.twitter.com/JHwyT7TtxA
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Smith has never named the program that came after him, though he said in the spring he knew by the end of that game that someone would come hard, and the school most often attached to the speculation is Miami, the hometown team of the South Florida native.
What Smith’s answer says about Ohio State’s supporting cast
Smith said he never seriously considered leaving, and he framed the decision as a calculation rather than a gesture. Walking away would have been “dumb,” in his words, when the roster around him already includes what he considers the best offensive line, the best quarterback and the best coaching staff in the country.
Smith led the Big Ten in receptions with 87 and receiving yards with 1,243 last season while scoring 12 times, and his 2,558 career yards and 27 touchdown catches are the most any Big Ten receiver has managed in his first two years. Julian Sayin returns at quarterback after throwing for 3,610 yards and 32 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman. Ohio State replaced Hartline with Arthur Smith as offensive coordinator and hired Cortez Hankton away from LSU to coach the receivers.
What has changed is the scale of the number rather than the existence of it. On3 reported in January 2025 that Smith was drawing portal offers in the $4.5 million to $5 million range, and CBS Sports pegged the going rate for a high-end portal receiver at $1 million to $2 million in its December market guide. Smith is operating in a bracket of one.
The line about the best quarterback in the country is the one that will get argued, and Oregon would open that argument with Dante Moore. Smith is expected to enter the 2027 NFL draft after this season, so the money he passed on bought him one more year in Columbus and a run at a second national title in three years. Ohio State opens practices to fans August 6 through 8 at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
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