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  • How should Texas deal with Jeremiah Smith in rematch with Ohio State?

    Jeff Howe

    By Jeff Howe

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    AUSTIN, Texas — There was a method to Steve Sarkisian’s madness when the Texas coach embarked on a mission to challenge Malik Muhammad ahead of the team’s second camp scrimmage.

    “I purposely went after him with a couple of different things,” Sarkisian said after the scrimmage. “For him to play the way that he played gave me more confidence than I've had, and I have a lot in him. Today was very, very encouraging on that front.”

    Muhammad, a veteran cornerback with 18 starts in 30 career games, will begin the 2025 season with arguably the toughest assignment he’ll face as a junior whenever he has to cover Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith. Smith was limited to one reception for three yards on Jan. 10, when the Buckeyes’ 28-14 triumph in the Cotton Bowl ended the Longhorns’ season one game shy of the College Football Playoff National Championship.

    “It was a team effort,” Muhammad said earlier in camp about what it took for Texas to hold Smith to his lowest statistical output and his lowest single-game grade from Pro Football Focus during his remarkable true freshman season.

    The Longhorns had Smith’s number in Arlington. Still, Sarkisian, who didn’t mention Smith or any other Ohio State wide receivers by name while detailing what Muhammad went through last week, knows coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline will be looking to get the 6-foot-3-inch, 223-pound Smith (76 receptions 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, which established new freshman records for a Buckeye) involved early and often.

    The occasions when Muhammad finds himself one-on-one with Smith should be few and far between.

    That’s not a knock on the 6-foot, 188-pound Muhammad, who Pro Football Focus touts as the sixth-best returning cornerback in the country. Texas should do whatever it takes to limit the times Smith faces man coverage because he destroyed opponents in those situations last season.

    According to PFF, Smith’s 90.6 grade against man coverage was second among FBS wide receivers (minimum of 13 targets), recording 25 receptions for 384 yards and four touchdowns on 32 targets with a near-perfect NFL passer rating when targeted (156.3). Smith also averaged 4.09 yards per route run (sixth in FBS) with an average depth of target of 11.1 yards, indicating that if Will Howard could correctly identify that Smith was facing man coverage, the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruit in 2024 would be turned loose, and Ohio State could hunt chunk-yardage plays (Smith caught 12 passes last season that traveled 20 yards or more down the field, racking up 467 yards and scoring four touchdowns, recording a near-perfect PFF grade of 99.9 when targeted on deep throws).

    Julian Sayin, who was named Ohio State’s starting quarterback on Monday, shouldn’t be expected to decipher what Pete Kwiatkowski is throwing at him in his first career start. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen how much Kwiatkowski and Duane Akina alternate between playing man and zone in the opener.

    That has more to do with trusting the communication that the secondary has worked to rebuild in the wake of losing Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba than anything else. At the same time, an effective pass rush could make life on the back end much more manageable if the Longhorns can routinely pressure Sayin.

    Although Smith was good last season against zone, catching 43 passes for 783 yards and nine touchdowns, shading coverage to his side of the field and devoting more resources to him, in general, is the path of least resistance.

    Elevated to the No. 2 wide receiver, with Emeka Egbuka out of eligibility, Carnell Tate was much better against zone last season (a season-long PFF grade of 73.7) than when working against man coverage (59.1). While it’s risky for Texas to let its defensive backs handle Tate, Brandon Inniss and the other Buckeye receiving threats more often in one-on-one situations, Muhammad and the other Longhorn defensive backs should be ready for what they’ll see inside the Horseshoe in 12 days.

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    LovingBuckeye
    5 minutes ago, CHorn427 said:

    Lol you FOR SURE don’t watch much Texas football. Arch Manning played 5 snaps vs UGA with 1:24 to go in the first half. He was pressured to move the ball down the field against an elite defense and the first thing he did was run for 21 yds and take us across the 50 for the first time in the game.

    Yeah, he took 2 sacks and fumbled a few plays later. It’s a different story actually starting the game with a script vs coming in down 17 pts with 1:24 left in the first half, wouldn’t you say?

    I guarantee you Arch has been in scarier situations than he will be in in Columbus. Sayin hasn’t. 

    How could he have played 5 snaps when he was 3/6 passing for 19 yards?

    Also, I have a hard time believing playing Georgia at home (a team Notre Dame and Georgia Tech pushed around all night) is going to be “scarier” than The Shoe with four new OL and no proven wide receivers.

    You might want to lower your expectations just a little.

    LovingBuckeye
    4 hours ago, SpaceCityWrangler said:

    Ohio State has been preparing for Colin Simmons all off season.  Likewise, Texas has been focused on the other game changer in Jeremiah Smith.

    The best way to keep the ‘ball out of Smith’s hands… it’s not just pressure. It’s threatening pressure.  In other words, get a young QB’s eyes down as quick as possible.

    AND, the best way to get eyes down quick is threaten pressure pre-snap in the A and B gaps.

    There’s no way a young, inexperienced QB, inexperienced RB’s along with a new guard-center-guard combination can be ready for that.  I don’t care if you’re playing Western Michigan or St. Mary’s Church the Poor, until you’ve done it (ie handle pressure from ‘backers coming from the A and/or B gaps), it has to be a massive concern.  AND, they have to do it in game 1 against elite talent.

    Hill, Lefau, Tyanthony, Moore and Spence (yes, I know he’s moved to edge) can dance in the A and B gaps pre-snap and either come or drop.  They’ll be comfortable moving up and back (ie threatening) pre-snap.

    A Texas LB’er is going to be the player of the game for shizzle.

    Ohio State doesn’t have an all new IOL. It’s probably the most experienced IOL in CFB.

    Philip Barber
    3 hours ago, Dread-headed Texan said:

    Sayin from what little I've seen doesn't have the biggest arm. He thrives in the short to intermediate area, I don't see Day leaving him out to dry on many 5 to 7 step drops. I expect to see them move Sayin's launch point, a lot of screens, hitches, slants, and comebacks. Tackling has to be on point, limiting YAC is the key. In my opinion Smith is big and fast with gold status in head tapping dbs deep. He's not the most polished route runner. 

    You have seen very little.

    Raistlin
    4 hours ago, SpaceCityWrangler said:

    Ohio State has been preparing for Colin Simmons all off season.  Likewise, Texas has been focused on the other game changer in Jeremiah Smith.

    The best way to keep the ‘ball out of Smith’s hands… it’s not just pressure. It’s threatening pressure.  In other words, get a young QB’s eyes down as quick as possible.

    AND, the best way to get eyes down quick is threaten pressure pre-snap in the A and B gaps.

    There’s no way a young, inexperienced QB, inexperienced RB’s along with a new guard-center-guard combination can be ready for that.  I don’t care if you’re playing Western Michigan or St. Mary’s Church the Poor, until you’ve done it (ie handle pressure from ‘backers coming from the A and/or B gaps), it has to be a massive concern.  AND, they have to do it in game 1 against elite talent.

    Hill, Lefau, Tyanthony, Moore and Spence (yes, I know he’s moved to edge) can dance in the A and B gaps pre-snap and either come or drop.  They’ll be comfortable moving up and back (ie threatening) pre-snap.

    A Texas LB’er is going to be the player of the game for shizzle.

    You also have to take away his first read and limit explosives.  When teams did that to Quinn, he dropped his eyes and got a deer in the headlights look.  That what we want.



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