ATLANTA — Ohio State's superstar freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith looked absolutely giddy at the prospect of being singled out in coverage Monday night.
Notre Dame has a great secondary and usually relies on that group. They led the nation in defense with high pass efficiency. But I've never seen a group of receivers like the one the Buckeyes have. He was third in passing efficiency.
“If you're going to play a man [to-man defense] When we play against Ohio State, be ready,” Smith said Saturday. “I can’t wait to play the show.”
The dynamic wideout had 13 catches for 290 yards and four touchdowns in wins over Tennessee and Oregon in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Texas limited him to just one reception in three years by bringing in an additional defensive back and freeing up Ohio State's other dynamic weapons.
This week, Notre Dame standout freshman cornerback Leonard Moore said he wasn't going to change “who we are” just because the Irish switched to zone coverage.
“I'm going to be covering man every week,'' said Moore, who was voted National Newcomer Defensive Player of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America.
He added, “We're going to go out there and challenge our receivers.”
Smith is ready to take the test. Ohio State has explosive threats on the outside in Emeka Egbuka (947 yards, 10 TDs) and Colonel Tate (698 yards, 4 TDs) that are difficult to deal with.
“None of us think we can cover it. I mean, we actually talked about this yesterday,” Smith said. “If that's what they do, that's what they do. We're just going to go out there and play our game and show why we don't play man-to-man.”
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman doesn't seem to have much interest in coaching in the NFL. It was recently reported that the Bears are considering interviewing with Freeman for their head coaching vacancy.
“I'm humbled to hear the Bears are interested. That's the NFL,” he said. “But it's also a memory. [that] Team success also involves individual success.
“I'm not thinking about coaching in the NFL at all. All of my attention was just focused on getting this team ready for whatever opportunities are in front of me.” That's not the answer you want, but that's the answer you get.”
Freeman recently signed a four-year contract extension with Notre Dame through the 2030 season.
