LeBron James has never been shy about his allegiance to Ohio State. Jeremiah Smith just gave him another reason to celebrate it.
After Smith became the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in receiving yards during Ohio State’s 59-3 win over Kent State, the star receiver marked the accomplishment on Instagram with a simple caption: “LEGENDARY.” James showed up in the comments with an equally concise verdict.
“H.I.M. 🤯💪🏾👑,” James wrote.
Hard to argue with the timing.
LeBron James Reacts After Jeremiah Smith Breaks Ohio State Record
Smith entered the Kent State game needing 26 yards to pass Michael Jenkins, who had held Ohio State’s career receiving-yardage record at 2,898 yards.
He needed two catches.
Smith moved past Jenkins on a 23-yard reception in the first quarter and finished the afternoon with five catches for 85 yards. That pushed him to 2,958 receiving yards through just 33 career games.
Ohio State also recognized the achievement during the game with a video message from Jenkins congratulating Smith on taking over the top spot.
James’ reaction carried a little more resonance than the average celebrity comment. The Akron, Ohio, native has been one of the Buckeyes’ most visible supporters for years. He has attended games, publicly cheered for Ohio State and narrated the program’s hype video before its national championship game following the 2024 season.
James has also described himself as an “honorary alum” despite going directly from high school to the NBA.
Jeremiah Smith Is Already Chasing 2 More Ohio State Records
The receiving-yardage record apparently did not give Smith much reason to slow down.
“It means a lot. Put a lot of hard work into it. But I have two more to get,” Smith said after the Kent State win, according to the Associated Press.
Those two are Ohio State’s career records for receptions and touchdown catches.
Smith enters the Buckeyes’ next game with 179 career receptions for 2,958 yards and 30 receiving touchdowns. Emeka Egbuka holds the Ohio State receptions record with 205, while Chris Olave owns the program mark with 35 touchdown catches.
That leaves Smith 27 catches from passing Egbuka and six touchdowns from passing Olave.
And there is plenty of schedule left.
Ohio State Opens Big Ten Play Against Illinois
Smith’s next chance comes September 26 when Ohio State hosts Illinois at Ohio Stadium in the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener.
Ohio State enters the matchup 2-1 after responding to a 24-23 loss at Texas with the 59-3 rout of Kent State. Smith leads the Buckeyes with 400 receiving yards through three games.
The Illinois matchup begins a conference schedule that eventually sends Ohio State to Iowa, Indiana and USC while bringing Oregon and Michigan to Columbus.
Smith has already checked off one piece of Ohio State history before that stretch even begins.
Two more records are now sitting directly in front of him. Judging by James’ reaction, the Buckeyes’ most famous fan is paying attention.
Ohio State Superfan LeBron James Reacts to Jeremiah Smith’s Historic Feat