Key Highlights
- 10 Miami (11-2) in the College Football Playoff quarterfinal on Wednesday night.“You could say there's a little bit of a emotion.
- I'm from Miami, grew up in Miami, from Miami Gardens, so you can say there's emotion going against my hometown team,” Smith was saying nearby.
- “At the end of the day, I'm happy for those guys to be here, and for me to play against them.”The Hurricanes certainly wanted him.
- They were the first to make an offer to him, when he was a sophomore in high school, and kept recruiting the receiver from Miami Gardens — where their stadium is located — until the very end. Smith committed to Ohio State when he was a junior and stuck to that a year later, but there were still some anxious moments for Day and the Buckeyes on that December 2023 signing day. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDay began meeting with local media for a signing day news conference before Smith, who did have some second thoughts, had officially signed his paperwork.
- The coach buckled his knees and feigned falling down when an assistant signaled to him the deal was done. Imagine if Smith, who has 156 catches, 2,401 yards, 26 touchdowns and a national title in 28 games for Ohio State, had stayed to play in Miami, which is just now in the CFP for the first time. The Hurricanes had just finished a 6-6 regular season in coach Mario Cristobal's second second when Smith officially signed with Ohio State.
