Ohio State Star Freshman Signs Latest NIL Deal With Battle Sports

Enrolling early with the Ohio State Buckeyes has had its benefits for their top new wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith.

April 13, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) competes during the first half of the LifeSports spring football game at Ohio Stadium on Saturday. / Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch /

Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith enrolled early with the Buckeyes in January and is poised to make an impact on the field as a true freshman.

His enrollment has also had its benefits when it comes to Name, Image and Likeness deals.

Smith’s portfolio of deals expanded recently with an NIL partnership with Battle Sports, which is a football equipment company that is only now moving into NIL partnerships with college players.

The company picked a rising star to partner with in Smith, who was one of the most sought-after recruits in the country before he signed with Ohio State last December.

To start the partnership, Smith did an Instagram video with Battle Sports.

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Smith talked about how his time at his high school, Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Fla., prepared him for taking the next step to college football.  

What makes me ‘me?. It’s not the fact I can jump high. It’s not the fact I can run fast, and it’s not the highlights, but I do like the highlights. I been who I am before all that. My family made me. Miami Garden Ravens made me. Boy, those hills coach Rod Mack made us run — those made me. Chaminade made me. Coach Jones made me. My teammates, my squad. My love for the game made me. And I just gotta pay it forward. That’s JJ.

Per On3, he’s been racking up deals since he hit campus in Columbus. He signed with both major OSU collectives, The Foundation and The 1870 Society. He received a Dodge Durango 392 in his deal with Ricart Automotive, a popular NIL partner with Ohio State athletes. And, like many college football players, he opted into EA Sports College Football 25 and was its top-ranked freshman player in the game.

Smith enrolled early after he was named the No. 1 consensus recruit of the class of 2024 and a five-star player by every recruiting service. MaxPreps named him the Player of the Year in Florida he was a finalist for their National Player of the Year award. He was also named the Maxwell Award High School Player of the Year.

He was the first wide receiver to be the No. 1 overall recruit in the 247Sports composite rankings since Dorial Green-Beckham in 2012.

In his senior season at Chaminade-Madonna Prep he had 88 receptions for 1,376 yards and 19 touchdowns. That included his performance in a state championship game victory in which he caught 11 passes for 170 yards and scored a touchdown.

That also included a showdown with New Jersey state power Began Catholic in which he caught 16 passes for 316 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of action.