It’s that time of year when some of the postseason awards start to trickle out, and we have one such instance with the announcement of the USA TODAY All-American teams Thursday.
Usually, if there’s an All-American team in football, there is a decent amount of Scarlet and Gray associated with it, and that’s also the case with this one, with three Ohio State players making the first team. You can probably venture a guess which players got the honor, but just in case, we’re here to inform you, because — well, that’s what we do.
In one case, we’re talking about a freshman, so make note of that (and yeah, you know who it is). OSU did not have a player appearing on the second team.
Offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, Safety Caleb Downs, and freshman wide receiver, Jeremiah Smith were all honored as USA TODAY first team All-Americans with the reveal on Thursday.
Jackson, a senior, has been the anchor of the offensive line, even moving positions when the team lost left tackle, Josh Simmons, for the season. He’s been the Buckeyes best lineman and has a good chance of being an early round NFL draft pick in April.
Downs was great at Alabama, and has lived up to the billing after transferring to Ohio State. He hasn’t amassed as many tackles in Columbus as he did his freshman year in Tuscaloosa, but that’s been more a byproduct of how the Buckeyes use him in the scheme. Still, he has one interception and 0.5 sacks on the season, and is often seen coming up on run support when asked as well.
Meanwhile, Smith has been a revelation for the college football world this season. We kept hearing about his exploits during workouts and spring ball, and he’s done nothing but make good on all of that this year with highlight catches, crips routes, body control, and a work ethic that’s already set him a part as a freshman. He leads Ohio State in receiving yards (954) and touchdown catches (10), and is second in receptions (57).
There were many outstanding performances during the college football season. USA TODAY Sports honors the best players with our All-America team. https://t.co/DHVaiV2yRb
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) December 12, 2024
Congrats to all three of these players and let’s hope there’s more coming in the postseason.
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