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

Jeremiah Smith keeps scoring touchdowns.

The star 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 grab of the season already and ninth TD overall.

Not only has Smith scored eight TDs through seven games, he’s caught at least one TD in all seven of those games. He’s 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 as USC’s offense ran through Rice. He also accounted for 13 of South Carolina’s 21 passing TDs.

Smith is also on his way to breaking 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 well-rounded and dangerous offense than Rice and Carter were, but that doesn’t discount how fantastic he’s been so far this season. The Florida native has been 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 have been one of the best teams in college football.