Ohio State Could Target Jesse Legree to Replace Jeremiah Smith

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The Ohio State Buckeyes are almost certainly going to need a new No. 1 wide receiver in the 2027 college football season.

Barring a shocking twist, Jeremiah Smith will be heading to the NFL. He’ll likely be the top WR off the board in the 2027 NFL Draft, and he could even be the No. 1 overall pick.

For the past few seasons, Smith has been a cheat code for the Buckeyes, but they very likely won’t have him after this season.

Ohio State recruits the receiver position very well, and they’ve got plenty of in-house options who could replace him, like the current true freshman Chris Henry Jr.

But if Ryan Day wants to go to the transfer portal for a top wideout, there’s no better young player in the country this season than Jesse Legree.

To be clear, there’s nothing specific that links the Oregon State true freshman to the Buckeyes. But if he were to be in the portal after the season, an OSU-to-OSU transfer would make a lot of sense.

Who is Jesse Legree?

Legree is a true freshman at Oregon State who is leading the country in just about everything at the wide receiver position.

Legree has been so good that USA Today’s Austin Curtright has added him to his “Heisman momentum meter.”

“Legree, a true freshman, now leads the country with 932 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns after torching San Diego State for 166 yards and three touchdowns on 10 receptions in Week 6,” Curtright writes. “Legree, averaging 24.5 yards per reception this season, has gone for at least 100 yards in every game and has scored two or more touchdowns in three consecutive contests.”

In those rankings, Legree checks in at No. 11, right behind Ohio State QB Julian Sayin.

“Sure, Legree and quarterback Braden Atkinson are tearing up Mountain West competition,” Curtright writes of the opponents who now make up the new Pac-12 but mostly hail from the previous MWC. “But no one else in the conference is remotely doing the same against the same teams.”

Jesse Legree Recruiting

Legree was a 5-foot-10, 172-pound wide receiver coming out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. He was a three-star prospect according to 247 Sports.

His only offer from a Power 4 school came from Pittsburgh out of the ACC.

His offer list also included Temple, Buffalo, Ohio, Delaware State, LIU, Rhode Island, Stony Brook, Towson and Wofford.

Is Ohio State in Play?

There’s no way to know that Legree will transfer. There’s no way to know that Ohio State would pursue him, either.

But as far as a program that develops wide receivers, there’s no one better than the Buckeyes.

And as far as a phenom who looks like he could play at a bigger program, there’s no one more obvious than Legree.

The speculation will increase as his season goes on. For now, it’s just fascinating to wonder what such a partnership could look like.

This article was originally published on HEAVY

The post Ohio State Could Target Jesse Legree to Replace Jeremiah Smith appeared first on HEAVY.

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