The good part of having a future top 5 NFL Draft pick on your team is knowing that for three seasons, you will have an elite player who will undoubtedly be an X-factor each week. The downside is, they could up and ditch a full season to prepare for the NFL.
Jeremiah Smith could very well sit out a season to avoid injury and prepare for the future. It’s a pending headache Ohio State might have to manage. And with everything going on at another powerhouse program with Nico Iamaleava right now, anything is possible.
NFL scouts are already labeling Smith a top five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. This isn’t even a stretch. The way he terrorized defenses in the College Football Playoff alone was proof he’s probably NFL-ready right now.
But the outdated rule of players having to stay in college for three seasons means his NFL hopes are on hold for two more seasons. It could also warrant him to sit out to stay as healthy as possible for his rookie season.
Jeremiah Smith has already shown scouts enough to justify top pick status
Back in the 2020 season, Ja’Marr Chase opted to sit out the COVID season to prepare for the NFL. Back then, it was a rarity. Nowadays, players don’t even play bowl games that aren’t in the CFP that are NFL bound.
So for a player to sit out a season in the era of NIL, it shouldn’t be a shock at all. Smith will end up getting his money because I’m sure his NIL contract isn’t tied to a minimum amount of games played.
This is what happens when the NCAA turns the NIL into the Wild West. Ohio State and every other team that was able to pull together the NIL money for the top athletes should have seen this coming.
It’s the risk that comes with the top players. You hope to turn them into NFL-caliber players, but you also want to get the most out of them, which at minimum is three years. If Smith balls out again in 2025, his third season would be unnecessary in the eyes of NFL scouts..