Florida Football Recruiting: Jeremiah Smith prioritizing playing with top QB

When it comes to Florida football, we here at Hail Florida Hail like to remind our readers from time to time that we are not insiders. We piece together information from all the sources to develop a narrative that makes sense.

When it comes to five-star wide receiver prospect Jeremiah Smith, that narrative is all over the place. On his Twitter page, he’s all in on Ohio State.

But Smith also keeps talking to recruiting insiders, and every time he does he sounds less and less like a player concerned about the physical jersey he wears in college and more concerned about the QB that will be throwing it to him.

Florida Football: Locked in 70% of time, all the time

We know that prized commitment DJ Lagway is doing everything he can to bring Smith to Gainesville. Even though he committed to Ohio State back in December, Smith took an official visit to Florida in March and has an official visit scheduled in June.

His June visit is notable because he has specifically lined it up to be there the same weekend as Lagway.

And while it said it would be hard to pry him away from Ohio State, he also stated earlier this week that “I could definitely see myself playing (at Florida).”

Then, there were the other comments he made this week after number one-rated QB Dylan Dylan Raiola committed to Georgia. Even though Ohio State has a QB for the class of 2024, Air Norland, Smith stirred the pot even further with his comments to On3.

"“Georgia gettings Dylan means a lot to me and my interest in them…I have to really give Georgia a look now that they have Dylan”"

Again, for someone that claims he is locked into Ohio State, he sure has wandering eyes around the rest of the country.

What seems to be developing for Smith is that he is less concerned about the “brand” itself that he plays for and is more concerned about whether the team he is with will be competitive nationally during his three years in college (presumably).

He wants to ensure that whoever he goes, given his status as the top-rated receiver in the country, he has a QB he has a good relationship with and that he is going to be on the same page as that guy.

And let’s be real, Smith holds all the cards and ultimately can go anywhere he wants. Smith wants to be a star and doesn’t have a “dream school” he has to do it at.

This is why, even though he just scheduled an official visit to Penn State, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of traction for him actually to flip to Happy Valley. They don’t have a QB for 2024 committed, and the one they are favorites for is three-star Samaj Jones.

But for Florida football, Lagway keeps climbing the QB rankings and is a far bigger key to getting Smith to flip than anything Billy Napier could say.