Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith becomes first freshman in 19 years to score TDs in each of his first 7 games

Jeremiah Smith continues to score touchdowns.

The top freshman wide receiver caught a 60-yard TD pass from Will Howard in the second quarter of Ohio State’s game against Nebraska on Saturday. It was Smith’s eighth TD of the season and ninth TD overall.

Not only has Smith scored eight touchdowns in seven games, he has scored at least one touchdown in all seven of those games. He is the first true freshman since Sidney Rice in 2005 to score TDs in his team’s first seven games of the season.

The former South Carolina star had one of the best freshman seasons we’ve ever seen from a wide receiver. Rice had 70 grabs for 1,143 yards and 13 TDs in 2005. No other South Carolina player had more than 27 catches or 297 yards when USC’s offense ran through Rice. He was also responsible for 13 of South Carolina’s 21 passing TDs.

Smith is also on pace to break an Ohio State record. The 60-yard TD catch tied Pro Football Hall of Famer Cris Carter for the most receiving TDs in a season by an OSU freshman.

Smith is part of a much more complete and dangerous offense than Rice and Carter, but that doesn’t detract from how fantastic he has been so far this season. The Florida native was one of the best wide receivers in the country and had 32 grabs for 553 yards through Ohio State’s first six games of the season as the Buckeyes were one of the best teams in college football.