Ohio State will have a major boost in 2025 with star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith returning for another season. Despite being the reigning national champions, the Buckeyes start the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason AP Top 25.Former Alabama running back and current CBS college football analyst Damien Harris believes Smith could be the key to Ryan Day’s squad maintaining championship form."All Jeremiah Smith needs to do is what we all think that he's going to do, which is be the best player in college football," Harris said. "If he does that, Ohio State will be one of the best football teams in the country."In 2024, Smith delivered a magnificent freshman season, surpassing 1,000 receiving yards and scoring 15 touchdowns. His dominance was especially evident in the playoff, where he posted 13 receptions for 290 yards and four touchdowns across decisive wins over Tennessee (42-17 on Dec. 21) and Oregon (41-21 on Jan. 1)."He is as technically sound as he is, as athletic as he is, he still has the ability to just go out and just be better than the people that line up against him," Harris said. "If Smith continues to progress at the rate that we think he can and is more than capable of and not only do we think he can do it he thinks he can do it as well, this could be the best wide receiver."And I know people going to look at me crazy. We could be in the midst of seeing the best wide receiver, not only in the history of college football, but all time period."Jeremiah Smith earns Heisman Buzz and leads NIL rankingsOhio State has produced legendary wide receivers like Ted Ginn Jr., Chris Olave, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Garrett Wilson, and Jeremiah Smith is carrying that tradition forward. His freshman season in 2024 ranked as the fourth-best ever by a Buckeye receiver, and many believe he could surpass his predecessors.Heading into 2025, Smith holds the fourth-best Heisman Trophy odds (per FanDuel Sportsbook), behind only Arch Manning, Cade Klubnik and Garrett Nussmeier. FS1 analyst Matt Leinart has already named him his personal favorite for the award.Smith’s star power is also just as strong off the field, as Athlete marketing platform Out2Win ranks him No. 1 overall on its “Fall 50” list of the most marketable college athletes. With major NIL partnerships (Adidas, Nintendo, Red Bull, Lululemon and Battle Sports), he carries an On3 NIL Valuation of $4.2 million.