Keying In On OSU WR Jeremiah Smith Will Be Key For Notre Dame In National Championship

Marcus Freeman and Ryan Day aren’t expecting any surprises, at least when it comes to how Notre Dame will attempt to keep Ohio State’s lethal wide receivers in check during next week’s National Championship.

That doesn’t mean the Buckeyes will know what the Irish will do on every snap, but mixing things up is part of what both head coaches said they expected when they spoke to reporters on Sunday.

“We know typically how teams are going to take a look at us and play us,” Day said. “They're going to play some man, and they'll certainly know where Jeremiah (Smith) is, and then they'll play some one-high and they'll play some two-high and they'll mix it up.”

An Irish defense that prides itself on being aggressive and playing man coverage on the outside may have to give a little against Smith and fellow wideouts Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate. 

“As you watch film, not many teams are successful just sitting in man coverage versus these receivers,” Freeman said. “We'll obviously have to mix some things up and come up with a great plan to try to limit what they do in the passing game. 

“You're not going to be able to stop their receivers totally. They're a talented bunch. So we'll come up with a plan and be able to adapt and adjust based off what's going on in the game.”

Texas may not have totally stopped the Buckeye receivers in last week’s National Semifinal, but they held Smith, the uber-talented freshman, to just one catch for three yards. Tate did catch seven balls for 87 yards while Egbuka managed five for 51, but Smith being a non-factor at least in the box score was one of the most shocking aspects of the game against Texas.

Day pointed to the Longhorns’ execution more than their gameplan to explain that. 

“They really didn't play us any differently than some of the other teams that we played,” Day said. “But we weren't able to sustain a few of those drives and connect on a couple other plays.

“Ultimately at the end of the day we've got to execute at a high level and continue to move the ball down the field, so we'll do the same thing this week. We'll put our game plan together. But he's obviously a huge part of our offense.”

Smith has 71 catches for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns through the first 15 games of his college career. He wasted no time exploding onto the college scene, catching touchdown passes in each of his first seven games and record 11 catches for 211 yards and three scores in the first two games of his career.

But, he saved his best for the Rose Bowl against Oregon, when he caught seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes blitzed the Ducks from the start. 

“There's different ways that teams will adjust based on what he's done and what he's capable of, and so we'll identify what those are in this game and then go from there,” Day said. 

The Irish will certainly mix things up. 

One of the key questions will be whether they can keep Ohio State quarterback Will Howard and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly guessing and whether they will be able to execute when they need to?

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