Fox's Joel Klatt's "Must be Right" Heisman Pick is a No-Brainer Buckeye

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Fox's Joel Klatt made a small round of media appearances during the Big Ten Media Days last week, and one of those stops was on the No. 1 sports podcast, Pardon My Take. 

After a great discussion about the state of college football and some fun stories from Klatt's past, Big Cat, PFT and their crew put Klatt's feet to the fire. They posed a question to him to make his guaranteed Heisman Trophy pick.

After some back and forth, he said that his pick would have to be the Buckeyes' Jeremiah Smith.

The reasoning is that Smith might have a really good year, but if he does, presumably so would his quarterback, Julian Sayin. 

However, the argument here could be that next year would be a rare case where an entire body of work is rewarded.

Jeremiah Smith has been the best player in college football, bar none, for the last year and a half. His numbers are amazing, his skill level is amazing, he shows up in big games, he makes plays in lopsided games, he is a leader on the Buckeyes, and he is a true game changer.

That will carry into the 2026 season, and if all goes right, he will have been that player for every game of his three-year career at Ohio State.

Now, this isn't to be misunderstood as a pity award; he will have to dominate next season for this scenario to be in order. But if that does come true, I don't even think that Julian Sayin would say that he deserves the award over Smith.

Smith was asked about his thoughts on the trophy during the same Big Ten Media Days, and he was very clear about the award. He believed that it should truly be awarded to the best player in America, not just the best quaterback on the best team.

Over his career, Smith has been just that. In his full two seasons at Ohio State, he has 163 catches for 2,558 yards and a ridiculous 27 touchdowns through just 29 games played.

Smith is going to go down as one of the most prolific receivers to ever play college football. There is an argument that maybe two or three guys could be put in the same sentence as Smith.

His career needs to end with a Heisman Trophy, and if all goes right this year, he should be able to add it to his trophy case.

At least Joel Klatt thinks so.

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