A fake quote about Jeremiah Smith went viral this week, and he wasn't about to let it sit there unchallenged.

A satirical account on X posted a fake quote claiming the Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver was making $0 in NIL this season and had chosen to give up his money so Ohio State could strengthen the roster elsewhere.

"I want to win another National Championship. I figured that money could be used to make our team stronger in other areas," the fake post read, per Shane Tuttle on X on July 6.

Smith saw it and responded with one word and a laughing emoji the next day.

"Huh????" he wrote.

The account that published the fake quote has a bio that openly states everything it posts is satire. But the post spread quickly enough that Smith felt the need to address it himself.

The idea that Smith is making $0 in NIL is far from reality. According to On3's NIL valuations, Smith is the second-most valuable player in all of college sports, holding a value of $4.2 million, behind only Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

The Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver won a national championship as a freshman in 2024 and earned All-American honors as a sophomore in 2025. He has six touchdowns across five College Football Playoff games. Through two seasons, he has 163 catches for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns.

For a player of that caliber, the idea that he's giving up his NIL money is something he clearly found more funny than offensive.

Meanwhile, even though the 2026 season is yet to unfold, Smith has already found himself in a notable ranking

Jeremiah Smith ranks at the top in J.D.PicKell's rankings

On3 analyst J.D.PicKell dropped his top-10 quarterback-wide receiver duos in all of college football on July 6. At No.1 is the Buckeyes duo, Julian Sayin and Smith.

"Having Jeremiah Smith on the field is a luxury for any quarterback, and Sayin definitely benefited," wrote the analyst. "Smith hauled in 87 receptions for 1,243 yards (4th-most in FBS) and 12 touchdowns (T6th-most in FBS) last season, earning Unanimous All-American and Big Ten Receiver of the Year honors."

The other pairs in the list feature Miami Hurricanes Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney, along with Manning and Cam Coleman from Texas, among others.

What do you think of Smith's reply ahead of an important season? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by

Farheen Fathima

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar