Jeremiah Smith has led the Big Ten in receiving yards in each of his first two seasons at Ohio State, entering his junior season with 2,558 career yards. That ranked 36th all-time in the Big Ten, but just four games into the 2026 season, he has already moved to 7th on the conference's all-time list and is on pace to shatter the record.
This season, Smith has an astounding 617 receiving yards and seven touchdowns, both of which lead the nation and have cemented him as an early Heisman Trophy frontrunner.
His career yardage total has climbed to 3,175 yards, which is just 443 yards behind former Purdue standout John Standeford for the most receiving yards in Big Ten history.
It is rather incredible that three of the top four on the Big Ten's all-time list are from the early-2000s Purdue teams that were early pioneers of the spread offense under Joe Tiller -- and that Smith is the only player from the last decade to crack the top 10.
For all of the incredible receivers that have come through Ohio State specifically, Smith has cleared them all in just 33 career games, and he's well on his way to setting a new mark that could stand for quite some time in the Big Ten record books.
Big Ten all-time leaders in receiving yards
| Player | School | Yards |
|---|---|---|
John Standeford | Purdue | 3,618 |
Dorien Bryant | Purdue | 3,548 |
Braylon Edwards | 3,541 | |
Taylor Stubblefield | Purdue | 3,433 |
Lee Evans | 3,382 | |
David Williams | 3,195 | |
Jeremiah Smith | Ohio State | 3,175 |
Jared Abbrederis | Wisconsin | 3,140 |
D'Wayne Bates | 3,128 | |
Eric Decker | 3,119 |
When will Smith break the record?
If Smith somehow maintained his outrageous 154.3 yards per game pace, he would set a new all-time Big Ten mark in three weeks against Indiana on Oct. 17. Iowa and Indiana are two of the next four defenses Smith will face, so one would anticipate he will have a tougher time maintaining that pace -- although, Maryland and USC's defenses are the other two and they will present opportunities for Smith to put up more monster performances.
The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers are the teams most likely to have the personnel and scheme to keep Smith in check, but as he proved against Texas, even top competition will have a hard time slowing him down this season. Smith has continued to get better, and his combination of size, speed and refined route-running has made it so that even when teams give him extra attention, he's finding ways to create big plays.
It's also become clear in the first few games that Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (rightfully) has all the faith in the world that in a contested ball situation, Smith is going to win out, and he's willing to target his star frequently, even when coverage is tight.
So, let's say against the meat of the Big Ten schedule, Smith slips back somewhere closer to the 95.6 yards per game he had as a sophomore. Even then, he'd only be five games away from breaking the record against Oregon on Nov. 7 -- with three more regular-season games to play, plus a potential Big Ten title game and the College Football Playoff.
What other records could Smith set this season?
The receiving yards record isn't the only Big Ten record Smith will likely set this season. After catching four touchdown passes against Illinois, he has 34 for his career, which is five shy of Braylon Edwards (39) for the most in Big Ten history.
Most national records are going to be out of reach for Smith, as he's only in his third year, and, as dynamic as he is, the Buckeyes' offense doesn't air it out as much as the most prolific passing offenses in college football history.
That said, on his current pace, he could threaten some Power Four marks. DeVonta Smith has the most touchdowns in major conference history at 46, and if Ohio State plays deep enough into the playoff, that number is within reach.
There are also single-season marks that Smith could set during the playoff. At his current pace of 154.3 yards per game (which, again, is an exceptionally difficult standard to maintain), he'd need to play 14 games to break the FBS all-time single-season receiving yards record (2,060; Trevor Insley, Nevada). The single-season touchdown record is 27 (Troy Edwards, Louisiana Tech), and if Ohio State played 15 games, he would just need to keep up his current pace to match it.
To even come close to those records would be remarkable given Ohio State's strength of schedule this season, and it's a testament to Smith's freakish abilities that we can't rule out that kind of dominant year from a player who will go down as one of the best receivers to ever grace a college football field.
