“I also had the opportunity to watch JJ since he was about 10 years old,” Geno said. “He will be the best receiver of all time. I really believe that.”

Geno continued and Jeremiah began to smile briefly, “Man, I was in the house. I watched the whole (Akron) game when he caught the first touchdown. Man, I jumped right out of my seat. The whole house went crazy. It was nice to see that. I thought he had a great game. Man, I thought he started off a little slow. I know he wants to catch the first one. He would have scored here too – here we go, JJ. But great debut. I thought he did a great job. He was born with the talent, but he puts in the work and is ready. He’s ready now.”

Dell then asked Jeremiah what was going through his mind when he heard Geno declare that Jeremiah would become “the greatest receiver of all time.”

“I mean, I feel the same way,” Jeremiah told Dell via CBS Sports. “A lot of people, not just my cousin, told me. There are a lot of people I grew up with who just played football, who have been around football for a long time, (and) they told me the same thing. I mean, it’s nothing new that I’ve heard. But it’s definitely a big statement and I just have to keep working on being that.”

Before Geno began his fairytale NFL career, which began with struggles in New York before finally rising in Seattle years later, he became a household name in West Virginia.

Jeremiah draws on Geno’s experiences with the Mountaineers back then.

“Just having a big cousin is special,” Jeremiah told Dell via CBS Sports, “because he’s been through the things that I’m going to go through with college, just everything that comes with it.” So he’s got it went through. I know I can turn to him about anything and talk to him about anything that happens because he’s certainly been through it.”

LeBron James posts about Jeremiah Smith after the freshman’s stunning performance against Michigan State

Current Ohio State players marveled Jeremiah Smith’s One-hand show late in the first half at Michigan State. That also applied to former Ohio State players.

And LeBron James too.

“It means a lot to me,” Smith said after the game when the Buckeyes first-year senior was asked if James was part of Smith’s two outstanding one-handed grabs in the 38-7 win over the Spartans.

“For me, just watching LeBron as a kid and looking up to him and the things he did in basketball is pretty cool.”

Smith had a spectacular performance at Spartan Stadium, particularly on Ohio State’s final drive of the first half.

First, the phenomenal freshman threw a 27-yard pass from the starting quarterback Will Howard. After rising between two Michigan State defenders, Smith used his right hand to make the downfield throw. His left hand then helped him secure the reception as he maintained his body control and went deep.

Three plays later, on 3rd-and-10, Smith reached out with his right hand to pluck a 17-yard dart from the backup quarterback Devin Brownwho briefly stood in for Howard after he was knocked out of breath. Smith made that one-handed lead and scored his second touchdown of the night in the process.

He also found the end zone with a well-designed 19-yard endaround early in the first half.

“I think he has all the intangibles you want in a prototypical receiver,” Buckeyes senior wide receiver said Emeka Egbuka Smith said after the game. “Obviously he’s big, he’s fast, he’s strong, all those things. But just his ability to seek knowledge and be able to learn – he doesn’t necessarily have to listen to everything I say or what Coach Hart (Brian Hartline) says, but he takes all of that knowledge and applies it on the field.

“As his knowledge grows and his game expands, he really becomes something special. Buckeye fans can look forward to the next few years.”

Smith finished the Michigan State game with five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown, as well as the aforementioned 19-yard rushing score.

He has now scored six touchdowns in his first four games as a Buckeyes jersey. The Chaminade-Madonna Prep native and Miami Gardens, Fla. native leads Ohio State with 364 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.