Overview
- Smith set the record on a 23-yard reception from quarterback Julian Sayin early in the first quarter of the Buckeyes’ rout of Kent State, surpassing Michael Jenkins’ previous mark of 2,898 yards.
- He finished the game with five catches for 85 yards, did not play in the second half, and watched Michael Jenkins congratulate him on the videoboard during the game.
- Coach Ryan Day praised Smith’s rapid rise to the top of Ohio State’s record book and noted it took Smith just 32–33 games to reach the mark compared with Jenkins’ longer span.
- The milestone has strengthened Smith’s standing as a leading 2027 NFL draft prospect and a top Heisman contender, and he still needs roughly 27 catches and six touchdown receptions to claim Ohio State’s career reception and touchdown records.
- Ohio State’s long history of elite receivers gives outsized weight to the achievement because the program has produced multiple top NFL wideouts, and Smith’s early-career pace suggests he could rewrite several school records before leaving Columbus.