Jeremiah Smith understands his touchdown grab in Monday’s national championship game might have looked familiar to Alabama football fans. As it turns out, there’s a good reason for that.
Ohio State’s electric receiver confirmed after the victory that it was the play the Crimson Tide used against the Buckeyes on the big stage.
On the specific play, Ohio State sent Smith in motion across the formation behind the line of scrimmage in what looked like might be a reverse or pass to the left side of the field. However, things shifted with Smith putting his foot in the ground and working back to the right side of the field unaccounted for with a walk-in touchdown.
Mac Jones, the quarterback who tossed the touchdown to DeVonta Smith vs. the Buckeyes, took notice of the play on social media. After the game, Jeremiah Smith confirmed it was indeed copied from Nick Saban’s program, and the star wideout says Ohio State installed the week leading up to facing Notre Dame.
“Alabama ran that like two, three years ago with DeVonta Smith,” the OSU star said after the game. “Something that we just put in this week. Wasn’t ever a play of ours, but it worked today.”
It had to be a sweet feeling for the star freshman, but it had to be especially meaningful for Ryan Day. The head coach of the Buckeyes endured a 52-24 loss to Nick Saban and Alabama in the title game at the end of the 2020 season, complete with DeVonta Smith going for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns vs. the Buckeyes.
Now, Day has his own title, and he used a play from the Crimson Tide to get his own superstar a key touchdown.
