Will Howard called his Ohio State wide receivers “error erasers.” Real newbie Jeremiah Smith is the closest thing the Buckeyes have to Wite-Out.

“Jeremiah, he’s going to work out some mistakes,” the Kansas State transfer quarterback said Wednesday on the “Triple Option Podcast.”

Howard continued, “The ball I threw to him at Michigan State wasn’t a great throw, but hey, he did it right.” He did it right. … I’d like to think I can do that for other people sometimes. But it goes both ways. I think my role on this team is that of a facilitator: just getting the ball into the hands of the right people and making decisions. I think I’ve succeeded quite well so far. I probably had a game or two that I would like to play again. And that means growing and learning every week. But I feel pretty good about where we are offensively. I think we’ve gotten better every week.

“With the amount of weapons we have and the way our offensive line is playing right now, it’s going to be tough to stop us for sure.”

Although senior wideout Emeka Egbuka Smith, who starred with three contested touchdown grabs in the red zone in a 35-7 win over Iowa last weekend, has been in the spotlight all season.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound first-year receiver joined the program as the No. 1 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings in the 2024 class. Five games into his college career, he leads Ohio State – a recent NFL wide receiver factory – with 453 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.

Smith recorded 23 receptions, second-most on the team, and he scored a rushing touchdown.

The Chaminade-Madonna Prep native and Miami Gardens, Fla. native has made three one-handed catches in the last two weeks against Michigan State and Iowa, two of which resulted in touchdowns. Smith also scored touchdowns of 70 and 53 yards, leaving five Western Michigan pursuers in the dust the first time around.

“The sky’s the limit for this kid,” Howard said. “The fact that he’s already as good as an 18-year-old complete rookie, that’s something special. I’ve never seen anyone with as much talent and work ethic as him.

“He is humble. He takes the coaching really well. He doesn’t complain at all about getting the ball. You never really hear a sound from him. And then he goes out and makes pieces that are just, I mean, otherworldly, like they’re not from this earth, dude. This guy is like no one I’ve ever seen. But I’m definitely glad he’s on my team.”

Rob Stone, one of the three hosts of “The Triple Option” and a longtime commentator, asked Howard if he ever just tells his talented wide receivers, “Just open up, because I’m going to throw it your way.”

“Damn close,” Howard said. “That happens sometimes. I mean, it’s like, “Hey, Jeremiah, he’ll be down there somewhere, just set it up for him.” And I often feel like – and I don’t even think we’ve done this many times – but if you get involved in a combat exercise with these guys, at that point you’re just playing along: backyard football, throwing the ball up.

“There were some times in camp where Mek (Emeka) was making some plays and JJ (Jeremiah) was making plays. Carnell (Tate)everyone just has a bit of free styling. And I think that’s a good part of my game – I think I can reach out of the pocket and extend plays a little bit. I don’t think we’ve even had to do it that often. I played pretty clean, and the O-Lines… I can’t say it enough, they play at a really high level. I think they’ve gotten better every week.”

Good pass protection is key, but so are playmakers downfield. Howard has those in spades, starting with Smith, perhaps the ultimate “mistake eraser” in Ohio State’s offense this season.